Iron gall inks are perhaps the most common inks in human history. They are intrinsically prone to degrade paper through both oxidation and hydrolysis of cellulose, the primary component of paper. Since iron is the most abundant metal in their composition, there is increasing interest in stopping the reactions by which it degrades cellulose. By contrast, metals like copper have not been the subject of much research in this area, even though they are commonly present to further enhance cellulose scission. The present project endeavors to develop a suitable treatment for copper-rich iron gall inks by chelating free copper ions with pyranose-based ligands. Preliminary results show that the resulting complexes are selective towards copper, inert to cellulose, and improve artificially aged paper strength.

Pyranose-based ligands for conservation of historical iron gall inks with high copper to iron ratio

245th National Meeting (2013)

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