Assessment of biocomposites and graphene hybrids for the conservation of wooden artworks
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Date
2025-10-08
Authors
Ρουσάκη, Θεοδώρα
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Abstract
Artworks and cultural heritage hold immense importance as they embody the history, values, and identity of societies across time. They serve as tangible connections to the past, preserving traditions, craftsmanship, and stories that shape collective memory and cultural diversity. Beyond their historical and aesthetic value, they foster dialogue between generations, promote intercultural understanding, and inspire creativity in the present. Protecting and conserving these treasures is essential not only for honoring our shared human legacy but also for ensuring that future generations can learn from and be enriched by them. Wood is a material that holds a predominant role among the artwork community, as the most used component. Despite its wide application, wood appears to have notable disadvantages, such as susceptibility to moisture, biological attack, and environmental fluctuations, which can lead to decay, warping, or cracking. These natural faults make it a fragile material that requires careful conservation to ensure its longevity in artworks and artifacts. The conservation of wooden artworks presents a complex challenge, historically addressed with treatments that often involved toxic and environmentally harmful biocides. Modern conservation sci-ence seeks more sustainable and effective solutions. A significant area of development lies in the use of consolidants, meaning materials designed to penetrate and reinforce degraded structures, to pro-vide mechanical strength, re-adhere loose components, and mitigate further deterioration. This re-search explores the frontier of this field by investigating the potential of novel biocomposite materials, specifically focusing on a commercial polylactic acid (PLA) matrix filament reinforced with wood, as a modern consolidant for wooden cultural heritage. Furthermore, this thesis examines the enhancement of these biocomposites through hybridiza-tion with graphene-based nanomaterials, namely Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) and Reduced Gra-phene Oxide (rGO). Graphene derivatives are renowned for their exceptional mechanical strength, barrier properties, and potential antifungal characteristics. By integrating these nanomaterials into the PLA/wood matrix, this study aims to develop a new class of multifunctional hybrid materials that not only provide superior structural consolidation but also offer enhanced resistance to environmental degradation factors such as moisture and biological attack. The main goal of this work is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of these biocomposites and graphene hybrids, evaluating their chemical, thermal, mechanical, and biological properties. Through a rigorous methodology employing techniques such as FTIR, XRD, DSC, tensile testing, and antifungal assays, this research seeks to determine the viability and efficacy of these advanced materials as next-generation consolidants, ultimately contributing to the development of safer, more durable, and sustainable strategies for the protection and preservation of our wooden artistic heritage.
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Keywords
Biocomposite materials, PLA-wood, Graphene, Conservation of wooden artworks, Consolidants