Assessment of the weathering effects on cellulose based materials through a multianalytical approach

Paper and papyrus endurance depends on their intrinsic properties that are related to the manufacture processes and to the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, presence of micro-organisms, etc.). During the time, paper and papyrus undergo unavoidable ageing processes causing mainly the degradation of the cellulose. In the framework of the European Project “PAPERTECH” a multi-analytical approach was selected to carefully study the behaviour, properties, and the quality of different samples of paper with different provenience, before and after artificial ageing. This work was focused to understand and explain the degradation processes occurring in paper during the time. Portable EDXRF, NMR, Raman, FTIR, ATR, mechanical properties, colour measurement and XRD analyses were performed before and after the accelerated weathering. The light and the chemical oxidation were found to cause the most aggressive ageing processes.