Degradation Measurements of Linen Fabrics

Abstract

Different artificial aging techniques, e.g., thermal, chemical, and photodegradation were applied to raw linen fabrics to produce artificial model samples that mimic the archeological ones for in conservation and consolidation experiments of ancient textile fabrics. The artificially aged samples were evaluated via several instrumental methods, i.e., mechanically, spectrophotometrically, x-ray diffraction, and viscosity measurements. The results indicated that degradation reactions including oxidation, took place at glycosidic bonds as well as at hydroxyl groups of cellulose to cause scission of the molecular chains where molecular weight decreases. These aging techniques are responsible for the changes in whiteness (WI) and yellowness (YI) indices and also of color differences (ΔE ).