ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Role of thermoxidation and depolymerisation in the ageing of systems paper/gum arabic/historical ink

András Peller, Milena Reháková, Michaela Ciglanská, and Peter Šimon

Institute of Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Radlinského 9, 812 37, Bratislava, Slovakia

E-mail: peter.simon@stuba.sk

Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the role and proportional representation of depolymerisation and thermoxidation reaction paths in the systems paper/gum arabic (GA)/historical ink during various accelerated ageing methods. The historical inks under study are iron-gall, bistre, and sepia. The results indicate that thermoxidation represents only a minor reaction path in the ageing of paper/GA/ink systems except for the iron-gall ink and the light-thermal method of accelerated ageing. The iron-gall ink accelerates both reaction paths of ageing, i.e. thermoxidation and depolymerisation; in this case, thermoxidation might become the prevailing degradation reaction path. For the sepia ink, an anti-depolymerisation stabilising effect in thermal methods of ageing has been detected. Considering the thermoxidation reaction path, the results even suggest that a compound preventing thermoxidation is formed during the thermally accelerated ageing in air and in 100 mg L⁻¹ of NO₂. In the light-thermal ageing, the most stable sample is the Whatman paper (W)/GA/bistre ink.

Keywords: thermoxidation – depolymerisation – cellulose – ink stability – accelerated ageing – non-Arrhenian temperature function

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-013-0470-1

Chemical Papers 68 (4) 564–574 (2014)