title: Modifications of the mesoscopic structure of cellulose in paper degradation.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Centrale per la Patologia del Libro, Ministero per i Beni e le Attivitá Culturali, via Milano 76, I-00184 Rome, Italy. mauro.missori@beniculturali.it
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Missori
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mondelli
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Spirito
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castellano
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bicchieri
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schweins
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arcovito
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Papi
authors.forename: Agostina Congiu
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Castellano
mesh_terms: D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D033363:Neutron Diffraction; D010209:Paper; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle
chemical_list: D002482:Cellulose