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15th International Joint Meeting GLUPOR 15 & GLYCOTwinning 2025 Coimbra, 15-17 September 2025 26 IL11 Nanocelluloses and nanocellulose films. Opportunities in the conservation and restoration of historical documents José António Ferreira Gamelas1 1. Department of Chemical Engineering, CERES, University of Coimbra [email protected].pt Nanocelluloses have emerged as a new class of materials with a wide range of applications, ranging from packaging, through biomedicine to transparent electronics. These materials can be obtained from cellulose using appropriate chemical (or enzymatic) and mechanical treatments. They are composed of nanofibers with diameters of a few nanometres (2-50 nm) and lengths typically higher than 1 µm [1,2]. Nanocelluloses are usually obtained in the form of hydrogels, and from the hydrogels, films or aerogels can be prepared under optimized conditions of water removal and drying. Nanocelluloses enable the production of strong, transparent and stiff films with high barrier to oxygen. Due to these properties, nanocelluloses and nanocellulose films have potential to be used in the conservation and restoration of cellulosic objects like historical paper documents. In this presentation, nanocellulose films will be compared with Japanese Paper typically used for the mending of old paper documents [3]. Some results of the application of nanocellulose films on rag paper written with iron gall ink (IGI) will be presented, as well as preliminary results of the intervention on real old paper documents written with IGI. Advantages and limitations of the use of nanocellulose films in conservation and restoration will be presented. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to acknowledge FCT for funding the project “NANOCELIRONGAL - Nanocellulose films for the repair of old documents containing iron gall ink” (2022.01621.PTDC) and the European Research Executive Agency for funding the ERA Chair project “BIOBASED2UC - Exploring novel bio-based materials and their applications in conservation and restoration with a new interdisciplinary team” (number: 101186492). References: 1. Nechyporchuk, O.; Belgacem, M. N.; Bras, J. Production of cellulose nanofibrils: a review of recent advances. Ind. Crops Prod. 2016, 93, 2–25. 2. Almeida, R. O.; Maloney, T. C.; Gamelas, J. A. F. Production of Functionalized Nanocelluloses from Different Sources Using Deep Eutectic Solvents and Their Applications. Ind. Crops Prod. 2023, 199, No. 116583. 3. Almeida, R. O.; Ramos, A.; Håkonsen, V.; Maloney, T. C.; Gamelas, J. A. F. Functionalized Cellulose Nanofiber Films as Potential Substitutes for Japanese Paper. Carbohydr. Polym. Technol. Appl. 2024, 8, No. 100573.
