Research on aging behavior of university archives paper with artificial acidification

Abstract

Aging behavior occurs in the storage process of paper archives, which accelerates the aging process of the paper. Therefore, it is important for paper archives management to explore the aging behavior of acidified paper (AP) and to delay or prevent its further aging. The aging behavior of the commonly used university archives paper with artificial acidification were studied by measuring pH value, electrical conductivity, mechanical properties and whiteness. The results show that the pH value, conductivity, mechanical properties and whiteness of AP change significantly compared with the non-acidified raw paper (P). After dry-heat aging treatment, the pH value of AP decreased more obviously than P, which shows more obvious aging degradation and further acidification of AP. During the aging process of AP, the molecular and structural degradation are promoted by the presence of acidic substances, which increase the electrical conductivity of the system. The microstructures of the paper are changed by acidification and aging treatment, and more fiber fracture, etching and microscopic holes are found in the surface SEM images. The reductions of the tensile index and whiteness of AP are also more significant because of the degradation acceleration of the acid.

Keywords:

• Acidification archival paper
• aging
• degradation

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Social Science Planning Research Project of Shandong Province in 2020 of the Philosophy and Social Science Office of Shandong Province “Research on the archives information management mechanism of practical operation based on the integration training platform of the international industry, science and education” (20CTQJ02), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21874078, 22074072, 22274083), the Innovation and Development Joint Fund of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2022LZY022), the Science and Technology Planning Project of South District of Qingdao City (2022-4-005-YY), the Exploration project of the State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles of Qingdao University (TSKT202101), and the High Level Discipline Project of Shandong Province.