Applied Sciences

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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is focused on highlighting the most recent contributions in the field of materials and procedures from a broad range of applications, including the conservation of mobile and immobile ancient artefacts.

The main applications are related to materials involved in environmental science and engineering, cultural and natural heritage, architectonic structure and civil engineering, as well as the procedures for the processing and treatment of new materials.

The studied materials can be from the nano to the macro scale, involving alloys, ceramics, composites, polymers, and more. We welcome the submission of a variety of manuscripts, from theoretical approaches (modeling or simulation) to advanced insights into materials and procedures.

For this Special Issue of Applied Sciences, it is my pleasure to invite you to submit reviews and articles in the abovementioned areas.

Prof. Dr. Ion Sandu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Historical artefacts; 
Archaeometry; 
Archeology; 
old painting; 
architectural monuments; 
conservation state; 
physical state; 
degradation; 
deterioration; 
preservation; 
restauration; 
scientific investigation; 
X-ray analysis; 
Laser cleaning; 
UV and IR techniques; 
Gas-chromatography; 
colorimetry; 
thermogravimetry; 
compatibility; 
feasibility;  
authentication; 
patrimonial evaluation; 
valorization; museums; 
nanomaterials;
coatings; 
protective layers;
binders;
pigments;
alloys;
ceramics;
composites

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

5 pages, 184 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

New Materials and Advanced Procedures of Conservation Ancient Artifacts

by Ion Sandu

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(14), 8387; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13148387 - 20 Jul 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 872

Abstract

This Special Issue focused on scientific works on new materials and advanced procedures used in the preservation of ancient artifacts [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Materials and Advanced Procedures of Conservation Ancient Artefacts)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

19 pages, 8405 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Degradation Products Assessment of the Wooden Painted Surfaces from a XVIIth Heritage Monastery

by Rodica-Mariana Ion, Lorena Iancu, Ramona Marina Grigorescu, Sofia Slamnoiu-Teodorescu, Ioana Daniela Dulama and Ioan Alin Bucurica

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(4), 2124; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13042124 - 7 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1769

Abstract

Currently, approximately 70% of paintings in museum collections are affected by the presence of metallic soaps, evidenced by spherical globules visible on the surface of the paintings. They are responsible for altering the paintings’ surface through processes such as exfoliation and cracking, or even in the form of surface “skins” that appear in the pictorial layers. The objective of this study is the investigation of the icon paintings from Saint Mary Monastery, Techirghiol, Romania, which underwent some restoration procedures. This study is so important/significant, due to the presence of efflorescence that is correlated with the conversion of some fatty acids, as palmitic acid, stearic acid and azelaic acid, in the so-called metallic soaps through the reaction of the metals contained in the pigments from the painting layer and the binder. The investigated paintings are strongly affected by zinc carboxylate aggregation, and for this, the sample was embedded in polyester resin and the obtained cross-section, after polishing, was investigated by microscopic techniques (optical microscopy (OM), stereomicroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with electronic dispersion spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and gas-chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in good agreement with data from the literature. The potential result of this study is the identification and quantification of the metallic soap generated as a white deposit (probably salts, a kind of white efflorescence), from the binding medium of the metal carboxylate ionomer, by the crystallization of saturated fatty acids, through polymerization in oil. Six pigments (calcite, lithopone, carbon black, red ochre, vermilion, and ultramarine), present in the sublayers of the samples were identified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Materials and Advanced Procedures of Conservation Ancient Artefacts)

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15 pages, 6836 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determination of the Conservation State of Some Documents Written on Cellulosic Support in the Poni-Cernătescu Museum, Iași City in Romania

by Oana Florescu, Robert Hrițac, Maria Haulică, Ion Sandu, Ioana Stănculescu and Viorica Vasilache

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(18), 8726; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11188726 - 18 Sep 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2009

Abstract

An important step in the conservation of old paper documents is the analysis of both the medium and the ink, in an attempt first to determine the extent of deterioration and degradation and then to choose the best preservation and restoration solutions. Our paper focuses on the analysis of three old documents displayed at the ‘Poni-Cernătescu’ Museum in Iaşi City, Romania by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), micro-FTIR spectroscopy and FT-Raman. Thus, the morphology and chemical composition of the paper media and the type of ink, as well as the cellulose crystallinity index were determined. PCA (Principal Component Analysis) was also used while relying on spectra collected by FTIR spectroscopy. We were able to determine the extent of degradation of the documents by corroborating all these findings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Materials and Advanced Procedures of Conservation Ancient Artefacts)

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