Painting used to test method with a white dot to show test area (left). Test area before (middle) and after (right) cleaning
Painting restoration could be yet another application for ionic liquids, new research shows. The work paves the way to safer procedures for cleaning paintings.
Over time, varnish applied to the top of oil paintings tends to yellow and accumulate dirt. Current conservation methods involve cleaning paintings with organic solvents but these pose environmental and health risks. Now, researchers in Portugal have demonstrated that using ionic liquids is a less toxic way to remove varnishes from paintings.
Varnish removal from paintings using ionic liquids
Maria Filipa Pacheco, Ana Isabel Pereira, Luís C. Branco and A. Jorge Parola
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA10679A
