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Cleaning Plasticized PVC

Does aqueous cleaning increase the rate of plasticizer migration in plasticized PVC?

Material analysis for WUDPAC's second-year science curriculum.

Background​

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This study was inspired by the treatment of a 1966 PVC mini dress designed by Daniel Hechter, treated during my second-year at WUDPAC. The dress required an aqueous surface cleaning to reduce the plasticizer that migrated to the surface. However, conservation research was inconclusive as to whether this cleaning would increase the rate of plasticizer migration.

 

For my materials science project, I examined the effects of cleaning the plasticizer from the surface of degraded plasticized PVC. Does removing the plasticizer from the surface cause more plasticizer to leach from the polymer matrix?

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This project was not completed due to the University of Delaware's closure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cleaning tests on the PVC surface of the Daniel Hechter mini dress. Photo c/o Marie Desroschers

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Analytical Techniques​

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  • Fourier-Transform Infrared Radiography (FTIR)

  • Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (py-GC-MS)

  • Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)

  • Attenuated Total Reflection – Fourier-Transform Infrared Radiography (ATR-FTIR)

  • Artificial aging

1966 PVC mini dress designed by Daniel Hechter

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