Does Water Cleaning Mitigate Atmospheric Degradation of Unstable Heritage Glass? An Experimental Study on Glass Models
Glass curators often question how their treatments affect the long-term stability of historical glass. While damp cotton swabs are commonly used to remove surface salts and dust, the use of water remains controversial, particularly for heavily altered glass, due to concerns about worsening hydration...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Heritage |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/7/276 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849407066053017600 |
|---|---|
| author | Thalie Law Odile Majérus Marie Godet Mélanie Moskura Thibault Charpentier Antoine Seyeux Daniel Caurant |
| author_facet | Thalie Law Odile Majérus Marie Godet Mélanie Moskura Thibault Charpentier Antoine Seyeux Daniel Caurant |
| author_sort | Thalie Law |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Glass curators often question how their treatments affect the long-term stability of historical glass. While damp cotton swabs are commonly used to remove surface salts and dust, the use of water remains controversial, particularly for heavily altered glass, due to concerns about worsening hydration. This study investigates the effect of water rinsing on an unstable soda-lime glass altered for six months (monoliths) and fifteen months (powders) at 35 °C and 85% relative humidity. Samples were then rinsed with Milli-Q water at 20 °C or 50 °C, and the monolithic glass was subsequently subjected to an additional 15 months of alteration under the same conditions. The glass surface was characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as Raman spectroscopy to identify the nature of the salts. The evolution of the hydrated layer was assessed using transmission FTIR, Raman and solid-state NMR spectroscopies, ToF-SIMS, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that rinsing effectively removes surface salts—primarily sodium carbonate—and induces structural changes in the hydrated layer, promoting silicate network polymerization. Upon resuming alteration, rinsed monolithic samples exhibit no further degradation after the additional 15 months of alteration. These findings offer promising insights for conservation practices and may help curators refining their treatment strategies for altered glass. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d796dcd9d71d4328bd18fe0ec9d15711 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2571-9408 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage |
| spelling | doaj-art-d796dcd9d71d4328bd18fe0ec9d157112025-08-20T03:36:11ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082025-07-018727610.3390/heritage8070276Does Water Cleaning Mitigate Atmospheric Degradation of Unstable Heritage Glass? An Experimental Study on Glass ModelsThalie Law0Odile Majérus1Marie Godet2Mélanie Moskura3Thibault Charpentier4Antoine Seyeux5Daniel Caurant6Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP), Chimie ParisTech, Université PSL, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, FranceInstitut de Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP), Chimie ParisTech, Université PSL, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, FranceInstitut de Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP), Chimie ParisTech, Université PSL, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, FranceNIMBE, CEA Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceNIMBE, CEA Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceInstitut de Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP), Chimie ParisTech, Université PSL, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, FranceInstitut de Recherche de Chimie Paris (IRCP), Chimie ParisTech, Université PSL, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, FranceGlass curators often question how their treatments affect the long-term stability of historical glass. While damp cotton swabs are commonly used to remove surface salts and dust, the use of water remains controversial, particularly for heavily altered glass, due to concerns about worsening hydration. This study investigates the effect of water rinsing on an unstable soda-lime glass altered for six months (monoliths) and fifteen months (powders) at 35 °C and 85% relative humidity. Samples were then rinsed with Milli-Q water at 20 °C or 50 °C, and the monolithic glass was subsequently subjected to an additional 15 months of alteration under the same conditions. The glass surface was characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as Raman spectroscopy to identify the nature of the salts. The evolution of the hydrated layer was assessed using transmission FTIR, Raman and solid-state NMR spectroscopies, ToF-SIMS, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that rinsing effectively removes surface salts—primarily sodium carbonate—and induces structural changes in the hydrated layer, promoting silicate network polymerization. Upon resuming alteration, rinsed monolithic samples exhibit no further degradation after the additional 15 months of alteration. These findings offer promising insights for conservation practices and may help curators refining their treatment strategies for altered glass.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/7/276glassatmospheric alterationdegradationweatheringglass corrosionwater cleaning |
| spellingShingle | Thalie Law Odile Majérus Marie Godet Mélanie Moskura Thibault Charpentier Antoine Seyeux Daniel Caurant Does Water Cleaning Mitigate Atmospheric Degradation of Unstable Heritage Glass? An Experimental Study on Glass Models Heritage glass atmospheric alteration degradation weathering glass corrosion water cleaning |
| title | Does Water Cleaning Mitigate Atmospheric Degradation of Unstable Heritage Glass? An Experimental Study on Glass Models |
| title_full | Does Water Cleaning Mitigate Atmospheric Degradation of Unstable Heritage Glass? An Experimental Study on Glass Models |
| title_fullStr | Does Water Cleaning Mitigate Atmospheric Degradation of Unstable Heritage Glass? An Experimental Study on Glass Models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does Water Cleaning Mitigate Atmospheric Degradation of Unstable Heritage Glass? An Experimental Study on Glass Models |
| title_short | Does Water Cleaning Mitigate Atmospheric Degradation of Unstable Heritage Glass? An Experimental Study on Glass Models |
| title_sort | does water cleaning mitigate atmospheric degradation of unstable heritage glass an experimental study on glass models |
| topic | glass atmospheric alteration degradation weathering glass corrosion water cleaning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/7/276 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thalielaw doeswatercleaningmitigateatmosphericdegradationofunstableheritageglassanexperimentalstudyonglassmodels AT odilemajerus doeswatercleaningmitigateatmosphericdegradationofunstableheritageglassanexperimentalstudyonglassmodels AT mariegodet doeswatercleaningmitigateatmosphericdegradationofunstableheritageglassanexperimentalstudyonglassmodels AT melaniemoskura doeswatercleaningmitigateatmosphericdegradationofunstableheritageglassanexperimentalstudyonglassmodels AT thibaultcharpentier doeswatercleaningmitigateatmosphericdegradationofunstableheritageglassanexperimentalstudyonglassmodels AT antoineseyeux doeswatercleaningmitigateatmosphericdegradationofunstableheritageglassanexperimentalstudyonglassmodels AT danielcaurant doeswatercleaningmitigateatmosphericdegradationofunstableheritageglassanexperimentalstudyonglassmodels |