A new and highly efficient conservation treatment for deacidification and strengthening of aging paper by in-situ quaternization

[Display omitted] •A new conservation treatment was developed by In-situ quaternization of aging paper.•The deacidifatin and strengthening of aging paper were achieved together.•The pH value was in the 7.5–9.0 range and the alkali storage amount was 220 mmol/Kg.•The tensile strength and folding endurance were increased by 28.05% and 80%.•Treated aging paper also had the great anti-bacteria and anti-aging performance. Ancient papers, facing the threat of acidification, aging and microbial corrosion, need to be repaired due to their significance of history, art and culture research. In this work, a new and highly efficient approach was proposed to deacidify and strengthen aging paper by in-situ quaternization for the conservation, in which MgO nanoparticles dispersed in hexamethyldisiloxane was coated on the paper surface and the aqueous alkaline solution and the 2, 3-epoxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride/isopropyl alcohol/water mixture were sprayed in a closed reactor. Results showed that properties of ageing papers were improved after MSCE-8/2 treatment. The pH value was in the range of 7.5–9.0 and the maximum amount of alkali storage was 220 mmol/Kg. The tensile strength and folding endurance were increased by 28.05% and 80%, respectively. The fluctuation range of brightness and chromatic aberration was 0.14 and 1.27. Moreover, treated paper also had the great anti-bacteria and anti-aging effects.