Preservation of York Minster historic limestone by hydrophobic surface coatings

Magnesian limestone is a key construction component of many historic buildings that is under constant attack from environmental pollutants notably by oxides of sulfur via acid rain, particulate matter sulfate and gaseous SO 2 emissions. Hydrophobic surface coatings offer a potential route to protect existing stonework in cultural heritage sites, however, many available coatings act by blocking the stone microstructure, preventing it from 'breathing' and promoting mould growth and salt efflorescence. Here we report on a conformal surface modification method using self-assembled monolayers of naturally sourced free fatty acids combined with sub-monolayer fluorinated alkyl silanes to generate hydrophobic (HP) and super hydrophobic (SHP) coatings on calcite. We demonstrate the efficacy of these HP and SHP surface coatings for increasing limestone resistance to sulfation, and thus retarding gypsum formation under SO/H O and model acid rain environments. SHP treatment of 19th century stone from York Minster suppresses sulfuric acid permeation

A multinuclear solid state NMR study of the sol-gel formation of amorphous Nb2O5-SiO2 materials

Multinuclear 1 H, 13C, 17O, 29Si MAS and 93Nb static NMR is reported from a series of sol–gel prepared (Nb2O5)x(SiO2)1x materials with x ¼ 0:03; 0.075 or 0.30. 13C NMR shows that by 500 1C the organic precursor fragments have been removed although some residual carbon remains as a separate phase. The 29Si NMR typically shows three Q-species (Q2,3,4) in the initial gels, and that with increasing heat treatment the average n of the Qn -species increases as the organic fragments and hydroxyl groups are removed. 17O shows unequivocally that the x ¼ 0:03 and 0.075 samples are not phase separated, while at the much higher niobia-content of x ¼ 0:30 Nb–O–Nb signals are readily detected, a definite indication of the atomic scale phase separation of Nb2O5. Th e x ¼ 0:03 and 0.075 samples heated to 750 1C are thus representative of amorphous niobium silicates. Comparison is made to other sol–gel prepared metal silicates especially with another Group Va metal tantalum. The effects of tantalum and niobium on the silica network are very different and it is suggested here that most of the niobium is present as NbO4, forming part of the silicate network

The use of advanced diffraction methods in the study of the structure of a bioactive calcia:silica sol-gel glass

Sol-gel derived calcium silicate glasses may be useful for the regeneration of damaged bone. The mechanism of bioactivity is as yet only partially understood but has been strongly linked to calcium dissolution from the glass matrix. In addition to the usual laboratory-based characterisation methods, we have used neutron diffraction with isotopic substitution to gain new insights into the nature of the atomic-scale calcium environment in bioactive sol-gel glasses, and have also used high energy X-ray total diffraction to probe the nature of the processes initiated when bioactive glass is immersed in vitro in simulated body fluid. The data obtained point to a complex calcium environment in which calcium is loosely bound within the glass network and may therefore be regarded as facile. Complex multistage dissolution and mineral growth phases were observed as a function of reaction time between 1 min and 30 days, leading eventually, via octacalcium phosphate, to the formation of a disordered hydroxyapatite (HA) layer on the glass surface. This methodology provides insight into the structure of key sites in these materials and key stages involved in their reactions, and thereby more generally into the behaviour of bone-regenerative materials that may facilitate improvements in tissue engineering applications