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Study on the Material Properties and Deterioration Mechanism of Palm Leaves

  • Xiaohui Yi , Meifang Zhang EMAIL logo , Ye Huang , Xu Wang , Yanxia Zhang and Shuxian Lv
Published/Copyright: May 28, 2024

Abstract

Palm leaves are an important carrier for written heritage in southwest China, Tibet, and India. Due to the very nature of the material, many ancient palm leaf manuscripts are facing acidification and other types of degradation. Therefore, scientific research and conservation are of utmost importance. To study material properties and aging mechanisms of palm leaf manuscripts, their basic composition, physical and chemical properties, we studied infrared spectra, internal microstructure, and changes within the structure before and after aging of commonly used local talipot leaves. The results show that aging and deterioration of talipot leaves are mainly due to their acidic production process and high lignin content. The uneven distribution of longitudinal and transverse fiber bundles makes talipot leaves prone to longitudinal splitting. These findings provide important references for the conservation and long-term preservation of palm leaf manuscripts.

Zusammenfassung

Palmblätter sind ein wichtiges Trägermaterial für schriftliches Kulturerbe in Südwest-China, Tibet und Indien. Aufgrund der Beschaffenheit des Materials sind viele Palmblattmanuskripte verschiedenen Arten der Degradation ausgesetzt. Daher sind wissenschaftliche Forschung auf dem Gebiet und Erhaltungsmaßnahmen von äußerster Wichtigkeit. Um Materialeigenschaften und Alterungsmechanismen von Palmblattmanuskripten zu untersuchen, wurden ihre Zusammensetzung, physikalische und chemische Eigenschaften, ihr Infrarotspektrum, die innere Mikrostruktur und die Veränderungen in der Struktur vor und nach der Alterung von häufig verwendeten lokalen Talipot-Blättern experimentell untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Alterung und Degradation von Talipot-Blättern hauptsächlich auf den sauren Herstellungsprozess und den hohen Ligningehalt der Blätter zurückzuführen sind. Die ungleichmäßige Verteilung der Längs- und Querfaserbündel macht Talipot-Blätter anfällig für Längsrisse. Diese Erkenntnisse liefern wichtige Hinweise für die Konservierung und langfristige Erhaltung von Palmblattmanuskripten.


Corresponding author: Meifang Zhang, School of Information Resources Management of Renmin University of China, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, E-mail:

Funding source: The National Key Research Program of China

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2022YFF0903903

  1. Research funding: This paper is supported by the National Key Research Program of China (No. 2022YFF0903903).

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Received: 2023-10-11
Accepted: 2024-04-10
Published Online: 2024-05-28
Published in Print: 2024-09-25

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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