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Microemulsions, Micelles, and Functional Gels: How Colloids and Soft Matter Preserve Works of Art
Author(s) -
Chelazzi David,
Giorgi Rodorico,
Baglioni Piero
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201710711
Subject(s) - microemulsion , soft matter , colloid , nanotechnology , the renaissance , consolidation (business) , computer science , materials science , polymer science , engineering , chemical engineering , art , business , pulmonary surfactant , accounting , art history
Colloid science provides fundamental knowledge to fields such as the pharmaceutical, detergency, paint, and food industry. An exciting application is art conservation, which poses a challenge owing to the complex range of interfacial interactions involved in restoring artefacts. Currently, the majority of the most performing and environmentally safe cleaning and consolidation agents for artworks belong to soft matter and colloids. The development and application of increasingly complex systems, from microemulsions to semi‐interpenetrating hydrogels containing such fluids, is presented. These systems have been used on diverse artefacts, from Renaissance frescos to works by Picasso and Pollock. Chemical design can be implemented to meet the requirements of curators, and knowledge of the colloid structure and dynamics can overcome serendipitous approaches of traditional conservation practice. Future perspectives for soft matter and colloid science in the field of cultural heritage preservation are also summarized.