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. 2024 Nov 22;14(23):1878.
doi: 10.3390/nano14231878.

Application of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Ethylene Glycol Hydrogel Technology for Removing Animal Glue in Book Restoration Based on Fluorescent Labeling Evaluation

Jia Wang  1 , Yuting Xu  2 , Canxin Tian  2 , Yunjiang Yu  2 , Changwei Zou  2
Affiliations

Application of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Ethylene Glycol Hydrogel Technology for Removing Animal Glue in Book Restoration Based on Fluorescent Labeling Evaluation

Jia Wang et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

This study developed a novel material based on polyvinyl alcohol-ethylene glycol (PVA-EG) hydrogel and systematically evaluated its potential application in the removal of animal glue from book surfaces. The microstructure, surface properties, and mechanical characteristics of the PVA-EG hydrogel were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle measurements, a universal testing machine, and a dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The introduction of ethylene glycol (EG) could weaken hydrogen bonding interactions between PVA chains to enhance the molecular chain flexibility of the hydrogel. Notably, the 10% PVA-EG hydrogel shows better crystallinity, higher hydrophilicity, and optimal balance between mechanical strength and flexibility compared to pure PVA, which is conducive to improving the efficiency of the removal of animal glue. Additionally, the effectiveness of the process of removing animal glue was verified by real-time monitoring using europium nitrate at a concentration of 0.4% (w/v) as a fluorescent marker. Such hydrogels with high mechanical properties, strong surface hydrophilicity, good removal efficiency, and gentle treatment characteristics have potential applications in the restoration of cultural heritage.

Keywords: PVA-EG hydrogel; animal glue removal; book restoration; fluorescence labeling.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
XRD patterns of PVA-EG hydrogel samples at various concentrations.
Figure 2
Figure 2
FTIR analysis of PVA-EG hydrogels at different concentrations.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Contact angle measurement results of PVA-EG hydrogel samples at different concentrations: (a) 10% pure PVA hydrogel, (b) 6% PVA-EG hydrogel, (c) 8% PVA-EG hydrogel, (d) 10% PVA-EG hydrogel, (e) 12% PVA-EG hydrogel.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Stress–strain curves of PVA-EG hydrogels at different concentrations.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Viscoelastic behavior of PVA-EG hydrogels at different concentrations in the temperature range of 30 °C to 50 °C. (a) Loss factor tan δ of PVA-EG hydrogels; (b) Storage modulus E’ of PVA-EG hydrogels.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of different europium nitrate concentrations on fluorescence intensity of animal glue.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Removal efficiency of PVA-EG hydrogel on fluorescent-labeled animal glue layers of different thicknesses. (a) Fluorescence intensity changes for the 5 μm glue layer; (b) Fluorescence intensity changes for the 10 μm glue layer; (c) Fluorescence intensity changes for the 20 μm glue layer; (d) Fluorescence intensity changes for the 50 μm glue layer.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The effect of PVA-EG hydrogel on the removal of animal glue from book pages.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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