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This paper reports on the behavior of red and black ink from a historical printed book, subjected to a plasma discharge treatment, applied for the decontamination and cleaning of naturally aged paper. As some preliminary experiments using high-frequency (HF) plasma showed a slight fading of red ink, the study was focused on the comparison of HF cold plasma and afterglow plasma treatments in order to get conclusive information on the effect of plasma active species on the red ink. Energy Dispersive X-ray Scanning Electron Microscopy SEM-EDX and Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy FTIR-ATR analyses were used for the identification of inks and binder, while the impact of plasma on inks was assessed by SEM analysis and color determinations. The experiments have been performed on an especially designed modular equipment, allowing the samples to be subjected alternately to HF cold plasma or afterglow plasma treatment. The study proved that direct HF plasma could result in a more important deterioration at treatment duration exceeding 5 min, while in afterglow plasma, this discoloration is not observable. The color fading is imputable to the corrosion of pigment crystallites produced by direct plasma discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at assessing morphological and chemical changes on the surface of the cellulose-based materials, such as paper, induced by high frequency (HF) plasma discharge. The topic is discussed using capacitive coupled plasma discharge at 1.2 MHz, performed in Ar/O2 mixtures, on objects made up of natural polymers, such as lignocellulosic fibers. The preliminary findings indicate the possibility of using HF cold plasma discharge for obtaining the modified properties of the cellulose-based surfaces. Simultaneously, this treatment is well suited for cleaning and decontamination purposes. The improved wettability of the cellulose-based materials after surface activation in low pressure HF Ar/O2 plasma is favorable for a subsequent deposition of protective coating formulas specific in the conservation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]