Protective coating of paper works: ZnO/cellulose nanocrystal composites and analytical characterization

• Published in: Journal of cultural heritage 2019-07, Vol.38, p.64-74
• Main Authors: Jia, Minghao, Zhang, Xiaogang, Weng, Jiajia, Zhang, Jie, Zhang, Meifang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cellulose nanocrystal; Nanocomposite; Preventive conservation; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 1296-2074; 1778-3674
• DOI: 10.1016/j.culher.2019.02.006

Coating of ZnO-cellulose composites on paper surface has potential technological applications. With this motivation, a simple approach of synthesizing ZnO nanoparticles in cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) by in-situ solution casting is reported in this work. The surface morphology of ZnO nanoparticles combined with cellulose fibers and the distribution of these ZnO-cellulose composites on the paper surface were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that ZnO nanoparticles are easily and uniformly dispersed in the CNC. The ZnO-cellulose composite nanofluids were prepared by dispersing the composites in isopropanol as a base fluid. To determine the protective potential of these coatings, the chemical and mechanical properties of coated papers after dry heat and UV accelerated aging were measured. Also, a good color stability of the paper coated by the nanocomposites was observed through colorimetric measurements. The paper coated with ZnO-cellulose composites was found to possess antibacterial and antifungal activity against five common fungi (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus Versicolor, Rhizopus nigricans, Saccharomycetes, Mucor) observed in the archive or museum and two bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) in common life.