Cleaning delicate surfaces depends on a number of conditions being met, including conformal contact with particulates on a surface, and favorable chemical interactions to promote release from the substrate. These conditions were demonstrated with a series of studies identifying conditions for optimal contact on surfaces of varying topology both with and without model ‘dirt’. A range of materials were necessary to explore a broad variable space in the properties of the networks or gels, including modulus and adhesion energy with hydrophobic particulates. Commonly used cleaning gels were complemented with soft bottlebrush networks to quantify particulate removal using image analysis. This informs guidelines to materials selection for conservators to promote efficient cleaning while minimizing disruption of underlying substrates. For a single application, cleaning efficiency up to 40% was achieved, while greater that 70% efficiency was obtained for multiple treatments of the same area.

Soft bottlebrush networks to promote contact with rough surfaces and support quantification of cleaning delicate surfaces

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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