Copper is a transition metal that catalyses the homolytic decomposition of peroxides, leading to accelerated degradation of cellulose, the main component of paper. Higher copper concentrations in historical papers are usually associated with the papermaking process or with the use of copper-containing pigments and certain iron-gall inks. The degradation manifests itself in the deterioration of the mechanical properties of paper and, in the most severe cases, can lead to complete loss of the paper substrate in areas where pigments or inks have been applied.
The conservation of cultural heritage is the responsibility of conservators. Knowledge of the composition of cultural heritage materials is essential for developing appropriate strategies for their preservation.
However, conservators often do not have access to instrumental techniques that can readily determine the amount of copper in samples. Therefore, in this thesis, I evaluated various commercially available and laboratory-prepared tests for copper detection, assessed their detection limits, and investigated the effects of their application on different types of samples. The tests were evaluated using Whatman paper treated with copper solutions, Whatman paper containing mixtures of various ions, and a range of real historic paper samples.
Since it was necessary to confirm the presence of copper in the samples, its presence was verified using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). AAS was used only for model samples because it is a destructive technique and is therefore unsuitable for the analysis of cultural heritage objects. Real historic paper samples were also analysed using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy XRF.
The commercial Cuprotesmo tests showed a relatively high detection limit for copper and caused the most pronounced changes in both model papers and real samples. The Hulthe tests exhibited a very low detection limit and caused the least pronounced changes. The ICN tests had a higher detection limit than the Hulthe tests but a lower one than the Cuprotesmo tests, while causing less pronounced changes than Cuprotesmo. Interference from other metal ions was observed only with the ICN tests.
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