FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRA-RED SPECTROSCOPY (ATR/FTIR) AND SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPY OF PARCHMENT

This paper describes the application of Attenuated TotalReflection Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) together with Scanning Probe Microscopy (atomicforce microscopy and micro-thermal analysis) on acceleratedaged and archival parchment samples. Damageassessment by ATR-FTIR of collagen, the main constituentof parchment, was based on spectral changes in collagen,in particular within the amide I carbonyl stretching region.This is known to be sensitive to changes in the triple helicalstructure of collagen. Damage assessment by AtomicForce Microscopy (AFM) was based on changes in the periodicD spacing of the collagen fibrils. Measurements madeon the same samples showed that in damaged samplesthere was partial and eventually complete loss in the Dspacingof the collagen fibrils. This was particularly evidentin accelerated aged samples subjected to pollutantgas (SO2). Micro-thermal analysis (micro-TA) of the sameregions of parchment showed differences in the thermalbehaviour on the micron-scale. The observed transitionsoccurred over a broader temperature range with increase indamage. In addition the same parchment samples weresubjected to controlled environment testing using dynamicmechanical analysis (DMA). This revealed that damage inparchment had an effect on its dimensional response toincrease in RH; the more damaged samples showed a lowerresponse to changes in RH than the less damaged. So damageat the nano-scale, as indicated by AFM, can be relatedto changes observed at the macro-scale, as indicated bymechanical testing, and this influences the response ofparchment to RH.