A new smart material constituted of Funori and Ca(OH)2 nanocrystals: Implications in cultural heritage conservation

An innovative material constituted of a natural biopolymers blend (Funori) from Gloiopeltis algae and Ca(OH)2 nanocrystals was developed to consolidate linen fibers for cultural heritage conservation preventing future degradation due to the alkaline reservoir by Ca(OH)2. The procedure to extract Funori from the algae was reliable and reproducible and the consolidation performances for aged linen fibers of the Funori/Ca(OH)2 nanocrystals smart system were showed highly promising in cultural heritage conservation.