Organogels for Low-Polar Organic Solvents: Potential Applications on Cultural Heritage Materials

Chiara Biribicchi (), Laura Giuliani, Andrea Macchia and Gabriele Favero
Additional contact information
Chiara Biribicchi: Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Laura Giuliani: Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Andrea Macchia: Youth in Conservation of Cultural Heritage APS (YOCOCU), Via T. Tasso 108, 00185 Rome, Italy
Gabriele Favero: Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: Traditional cleaning methods for removing undesired substances from artworks often involve the use of toxic volatile solvents, raising concerns about human health and environmental impact. Over time, various cleaning systems, such as thickeners, rigid, peelable, and nanostructured gels, have been introduced in the conservation sector to minimize solvent use and toxicity. However, these methods are primarily tailored for aqueous solutions or medium-to-high-polar solvents, leaving sustainable organogels for low-polar solvents largely unexplored. This paper explores the application of Low-Molecular-Weight Gelators (LMWGs) in the field of cultural heritage conservation, focusing on their potential to gel low-polar organic solvents. LMWGs, including cholesterol derivatives, fatty acid-derived compounds, anthryl, anthraquinone, amino acid, and saccharide-based organogelators, offer biocompatible and cost-effective options by forming supramolecular gels that immobilize solvents and reduce their release into the environment. This study highlights the need to transition from traditional, often toxic, solvents to greener and more sustainable cleaning systems by emphasizing LMWGs’ biodegradability, biocompatibility, and sustainability. While challenges such as optimizing gel properties and ensuring compatibility with artwork surfaces still need to be addressed, LMWGs hold promise as organogelators in conservation practice. Further research into LMWGs should focus on their optimization for conservation applications by adjusting their rheological properties and physico-chemical stability.

Keywords: LMWG; low-polar solvents; non-polar solvents; organogel; green; sustainable; conservation; artworks; cleaning system; cleaning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16305/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16305/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16305-:d:1287678

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().