Novel MOF paper composites for the removal of airborne pollutants from the environment of cultural heritage artefacts

•Porous materials utilized as adsorbents for the removal of pollutants are typically in powder form, which is not always convenient nor practicalin the proximity of cultural heritage (CH) artefacts.•A novel shaping, as a paper sheet loaded to up to 75 wt% of porous material is proposed and tested in the laboratory.•The paper composite can be loaded with Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), activated carbon or NaY zeolite.•The use of the MOF MIL-100(Fe) makes the paper composite remarkably effective in selectively capturing very volatile and volatile organic compounds without releasing them even when moisture is present.•A very conclusive test was conducted using the MOF paper sheet to trap acetic acid from a degraded cellulose acetate film. The quality of indoor air in Cultural Heritage (CH) institutions is a prime concern for the preservation of the artefacts in the collections. When stored in enclosures such as boxes and cabinets, or when exhibited in display cases or poorly ventilated rooms, a buildup of pollutants, in particular very volatile (VVOCs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can occur and be detrimental to the objects. These airborne pollutants arise from the slow deterioration of the objects themselves as well as from the outgassing of storage, exhibition and cleaning products and materials (wood, plastics, varnishes, paints, cleaning products). Carboxylic acids are a category of airborne pollutants that are particularly harmful to cultural goods, while aldehydes might be hazardous to human health. Adsorbents are often used to trap these pollutants, and currently activated carbons and zeolites are the most common ones. Nonetheless they are not compound-selective, their efficiency and regeneration ability are limited and they can re-emit the pollutants. Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and, specifically, the benchmark mesoporous Fe(III) trimesate MOF denoted MIL-100(Fe), have been recently reported to selectively capture carboxylic acids, even in the presence of moisture. In this work, we studied three adsorbents, namely activated carbon, NaY zeolite and the MOF MIL-100(Fe), shaped as paper sheets, by mixing them with cellulose fibers and nanofibers. Their performance for the capture of various target substances notoriously emitted by CH artefacts, namely formic acid, acetic acid, acrylic acid, and furfural was compared. The tests were carried out in passive adsorption mode, in a purpose-made exposure laboratory bottle, in the presence of mois