Exploring Cleaning Methodologies for Plastic Artworks Using Laser and Cold Plasma Techniques

塑料已经成为现代艺术收藏品的一部分，其保存是一个活跃的研究领域，提出了许多挑战。博物馆收藏品中的塑料可能会以令人惊讶的意外方式变质，从而导致材料损坏(塑化剂损失、变形、颜色和成分变化)。除尘和除尘也是重要的环保挑战；伦敦大学学院2019年在泰特进行的一项调查发现，在接受调查的75个塑料部件中，有72个部件上有根深蒂固的污垢，66个部件上有灰尘。2012年欧盟PopART项目重点关注塑料文物的保护，发现大约75%的博物馆收藏品需要清洗。塑料艺术品的清洗包括以下风险：产生划痕，修改表面形态，提取低分子材料，清洁系统残留物，光学表面属性的变化，如透明度和颜色，溶剂效应，增强氧化和机械损坏。这项研究建议使用激光和冷等离子体辐射来研究尚未探索的塑料艺术品清洗方法。本项目旨在探索激光和冷等离子体作为塑料艺术品保鲜清洗工具的作用。这项研究为在艺术品和其他遗产中安全处理更高范围的塑料提供了可能性。该项目将提高对这些技术的能力以及如何将其落实到更广泛的保护战略中的理解。更好地了解激光和冷等离子清洗技术的能力可能会为保管员提供一种未来的清洗方法，不仅用于表面污垢，还用于去除丙烯酸粘合剂和旧粘合剂。这在国内和国际上都具有重要意义，对于任何收藏了塑料的遗产机构来说都是如此。该项目的研究活动将有助于为不同类别的塑料开发激光清洗和冷等离子体应用方案。到目前为止，所有探索的塑料清洗方案都需要接触，这可能会对有价值的艺术品造成危险，由于塑料表现出较差的耐磨性，因此有必要推进侵入性较小的清洗策略。激光和冷等离子体处理的主要优点是它们是非接触式、无溶剂的方法，允许很大程度的控制，显示出强大的潜力，可以作为各种塑料的清洁方法。这项研究项目与EPSRC的四个研究领域--光物质和光学现象、等离子体和激光、聚合物材料和表面科学--相一致。这是一个跨学科的研究项目。该项目得益于伦敦大学学院医学物理和生物工程与伦敦大学学院可持续遗产研究所之间的合作。亚当·吉布森教授和凯瑟琳·柯伦博士的监督团队分别带来了材料-光相互作用和塑料降解方面的专业知识。此外，CNR-ISPC(意大利国家研究理事会-遗产科学研究所)与Cristiano Riminesi博士进行了跨学科合作，Cristiano Riminesi博士作为未来的共同监督人，将为该项目提供激光和等离子设备，并分享他在应用这些技术清洁其他类型艺术品方面的专业知识。此外，这项研究可能代表着拥有塑料艺术品收藏品的博物馆的尖端解决方案；泰特博物馆已经表达了在这个项目上合作的强烈兴趣，这增加了泰特与伦敦大学学院可持续遗产研究所正在进行的和过去的研究关系(例如Complex和NANORESTART项目)。

Plastics have become part of modern art collections and their preservation is an active area of research which presents many challenges. Plastics in museum collections can deteriorate with surprising suddenness with consequent material damage (plasticiser loss, deformation, colour and compositional changes). Dust and dirt removal are also important conservation challenges; a 2019 survey at Tate, conducted by UCL identified ingrained dirt on 72 and dust on 66 out of 75 surveyed plastic components. The 2012 EU project POPART which focused on the conservation of plastic artefacts identified that approximately 75% of museum-based collections need cleaning.The cleaning of plastic artworks encompass risk around the development of scratches, modifying surface morphology, the extraction of low molecular weight materials, cleaning system residues, changes to optical surface properties such as transparency and colour, solvent effects, enhanced oxidation and mechanical damage.This research proposes to investigate unexplored cleaning methodologies for plastic artworks using laser sources and cold plasma radiation. This project aims to explore the role of laser and cold plasma as conservation cleaning tools for plastic artworks. The research opens the potential to safely treat a higher range of plastics in artworks and in other heritage objects. The project will improve the understanding of these technologies' capabilities and how they can be implemented into wider conservation strategies. Having a greater understanding of the ability of laser and cold plasma cleaning technologies may offer conservators a future cleaning method, not just for surface dirt but also for the removal of acrylic cements and old adhesives. This is of relevance both nationally and internationally, for any heritage institution with plastics in their collections. The research activities within the project will constitute a contribution to the development of protocols for laser cleaning and cold plasma applications for different categories of plastics.All plastics cleaning protocols explored so far require contact, which can be hazardous for valuable artworks and there is a need to advance less invasive cleaning strategies since plastics exhibit poor resistance to abrasion. The key advantages of laser and cold plasma treatments are that they are non-contact, solvent-free methods that allow for great control exhibit strong potential as cleaning methods for a wide range of plastics. This research project aligns with four EPSRC research areas - light matter and optical phenomena, plasma and lasers, polymer materials and surface science.This is an interdisciplinary research project. The project benefits from collaboration between UCL Medical Physics and Bioengineering and the UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage. The supervisory team of Prof Adam Gibson and Dr Katherine Curran bring expertise in material-light interactions and plastics degradation, respectively. Also, the interdisciplinary collaboration involves the CNR-ISPC (Italian National Research Council - Institute of Heritage Science) with Dr Cristiano Riminesi who - as prospective co-supervisor - will give access to laser and plasma devices for this project, also sharing his expertise on the application of these technologies for the cleaning of other types of artworks. Moreover, this research could represent cutting-edge solutions for museums with plastic artworks collections; museum Tate already expressed a strong interest in collaborating on this project, which increases Tate's ongoing and past research relationship (e.g. COMPLEX and NANORESTART projects) with the UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage.