iron gall ink

Ingredients

iron gall, free iron ions, acid

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The paper describes the traditional and innovative mitigation of iron gall ink corrosion. Traditional restoration is performed with thin Japanese paper (JP) and adhesives, whereas modern methods utilize nanocellulose. Specifically, Section 3.2 mentions the 'calcium phytate/magnesium phytate method to prevent corrosion of iron gall ink' (p. 14). This involves phytate chelators occupying coordination sites of iron to prevent the Fenton reaction. The acidified paper is then deacidified using calcium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate.

Evidence

"The use of iron gall ink always leads to the endogenous degradation of paper through two mechanisms, namely, acidic hydrolysis of cellulose due to high acid content and oxidative degradation of cellulose associated with free iron ions [70,71]."

Remarks

Iron gall ink corrosion is described as a two-fold process: acidic hydrolysis and oxidative degradation (p. 14). Mechanical reinforcement by Cellulose Nanofibrils (CNFs) is highlighted as a stabilization method that does not compromise the visual integrity or haptic properties of the manuscript (p. 15). CNFs are applied to complex with iron ions and mechanically consolidate the paper matrix, filling gaps and increasing hydrogen bonds (Section 3.2).