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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 97 » Issue 23
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 238001 (2006) [4 pages]

Modifications of the Mesoscopic Structure of Cellulose in Paper Degradation

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Mauro Missori1,*, Claudia Mondelli2, Marco De Spirito3, Carlo Castellano4, Marina Bicchieri1, Ralf Schweins5, Giuseppe Arcovito3, Massimiliano Papi3, and Agostina Congiu Castellano4
1Istituto Centrale per la Patologia del Libro, Ministero per i Beni e le Attivitá Culturali, via Milano 76, I-00184 Rome, Italy
2Institut Laue Langevin 6, CNR-INFM and CRS Soft, Rue Jules Horowitz, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
3Istituto di Fisica, Universitá Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, I-00168 Rome, Italy
4Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá di Roma “La Sapienza,” Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, I-00185 Rome, Italy
5LSS Group, ILL, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France

Received 6 March 2006; published 6 December 2006

Paper is the main component of a huge quantity of cultural heritage. It is primarily composed of cellulose that undergoes significant degradation with the passage of time. By using small angle neutron scattering (SANS), we investigated cellulose’s supramolecular structure, which allows access to degradation agents, in ancient and modern samples. For the first time, SANS data were interpreted in terms of water-filled pores, with their sizes increasing from 1.61 nm up to 1.97 nm in natural and artificially aged papers. The protective effect of gelatine sizing was also observed.

© 2006 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.238001
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.238001
PACS:
81.05.Lg, 28.20.Cz

*Electronic address: mauro.missori@beniculturali.it

 
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