Conservation of Plastics : Materials Science, Degradation and Preservation

by Shashoua

• ISBN13: 9780750664950
• ISBN10: 0750664959
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781136415159
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-07-23
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• More Book Details

Summary

Three-dimensional plastic objects are increasingly finding their way into museum, gallery, private and other cultural collections, but they frequently exhibit deterioration after just a few years. Conservation of Plastics provides the essential knowledge needed to understand the causes of deterioration and to preserve plastics in the best possible condition so that they can continue to be studied and enjoyed for many years.

Author Biography

Yvonne Shashoua is a Senior Researcher specializing in modern materials at the National Museum of Denmark

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xi
Picture Credits	p. xiii
Plastics in Collections	p. 1
Collecting plastics	p. 2
Condition of plastics in collections	p. 8
Origin and development of conservation of plastics	p. 11
Status of conservation of plastics	p. 15
References	p. 16
Historical Development of Plastics	p. 19
Development of semi-synthetic plastics	p. 22
Development of synthetic plastics	p. 26
Tomorrow's plastics	p. 33
References	p. 36
Technology of Plastics Production	p. 39
Preparation of polymers	p. 40
Additives	p. 56
Shaping of plastics	p. 76
References	p. 89
Properties of Plastics	p. 91
Chemical properties	p. 91
Optical properties	p. 99
Physical properties	p. 101
Thermal properties	p. 107
References	p. 111
Identification of Plastics in Collections	p. 113
Simple non-destructive identification techniques	p. 116
Simple destructive identification techniques	p. 120
Spot tests for identifying polymers or their components	p. 130
Instrumental techniques to identify plastics	p. 133
References	p. 148
Degradation of Plastics	p. 151
Degradation attributed to physical factors	p. 153
Degradation attributed to chemical factors	p. 162
Degradation attributed to biological factors	p. 176
Degradation pathways for the least stable plastics in museum collections	p. 177
Terms used to describe the degradation of plastics objects	p. 189
References	p. 190
Conservation of Plastics	p. 193
Inhibitive conservation	p. 194
Interventive conservation	p. 207
References	p. 222
The Future of Plastics Conservation	p. 227
Monitoring the condition of plastics in collections	p. 228
Research into the deterioration of synthetic plastics	p. 229
Development of additional conservation techniques	p. 229
Training in plastics deterioration and conservation	p. 231
Development of an information interface between plastics manufacturers and users	p. 231
References	p. 232
Optical, Physical, Thermal and Chemical Properties of the Most Frequently Collected Plastics	p. 235
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra of Polymers Frequently Found in Collections	p. 255
Terms used to Describe the Degradation of Plastics	p. 271
Index	p. 275
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