Paper's impermanence is a significant threat to book collections, especially to those including rare books. The aging of books published between 1560 and 1939 was examined non-destructively using headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS).  Volatile organic compounds (VOC's) emanating from the pages of each book were identified including straight-chain aldehydes, tracers of fatty acid oxidation in paper, and furfural, a tracer of the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose.  The relative abundance of furfural was shown to increase across the 379-year publication period, while the relative abundance of the straight-chain aldehydes was shown to decrease across the same time span.  The paper composition was shown to significantly impact a book's VOC emissions.

Paper degradation in rare books: A comparison of hydrolytic and oxidative pathways

241st National Meeting (2011)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.