materials-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Advanced Materials in Cultural Heritage Conservation

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Materials Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 211

Special Issue Editor

Institute of Culture and Heritage, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710000, China
Interests: metal cultural relics conservation; archaeological science; cultural relic conservation materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The preservation of cultural heritage relics—including ​metals, ceramics, stone, textiles, paper, wood, and painted artifacts—faces challenges from environmental degradation, biological damage, and mechanical wear. To address these issues, researchers are developing ​innovative materials such as the following:

  • ​Protective coatings (e.g., nanocomposites and hydrophobic polymers);
  • ​Consolidants (e.g., silica-based gels and organic–inorganic hybrids);
  • ​Corrosion inhibitors (for metals);
  • ​Biocides and antifungal agents (for organic materials);
  • ​Sustainable and eco-friendly materials (e.g., bio-based polymers).

This Special Issue aims to showcase ​cutting-edge advancements in materials science for heritage conservation, emphasizing ​durability, compatibility, and minimal intervention. We welcome ​original research, reviews, and case studies on the following:

✔ ​Novel materials for preventive and remedial conservation;

✔ ​Characterization techniques (e.g., spectroscopy and microscopy);

✔ ​Laboratory and field applications;

✔ ​AI and computational modeling in material design;

We encourage submissions from ​materials scientists, conservators, archaeologists, chemists, and engineers. Your expertise can bridge the gap between ​innovation and practical conservation.

We look forward to your valuable contributions.

Best regards,​

Dr. Qixing Xia
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • advanced materials
  • gels
  • microemulsions
  • nanoparticles
  • functional materials
  • composites
  • cultural heritage preservation
  • cleaning
  • consolidation
  • protection

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 7116 KB  
Article
Analysis of the Fiber Residues Unearthed from the Dabuzi Han Tomb in Xi’an, Shaanxi
by Zhenzhen Ma, Yingpei Zhu, Jing Shao, Xianting Hou, Menghe Cui, Bei Zhang, Jianxi Li and Qixing Xia
Materials 2025, 18(20), 4812; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18204812 - 21 Oct 2025
Abstract
In 2021, archeologists found that a bronze mirror was wrapped with a yellow-green fiber sheet in the Western Han tomb M68 in the Dabuzi Cemetery in Xi’an, China. To ascertain the composition and function, a scanning electronic microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), Fourier transform [...] Read more.
In 2021, archeologists found that a bronze mirror was wrapped with a yellow-green fiber sheet in the Western Han tomb M68 in the Dabuzi Cemetery in Xi’an, China. To ascertain the composition and function, a scanning electronic microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) were combined for the morphology and components’ analysis. The results showed that the surface of the yellow-green fiber sheet was very rough without curtain patterns, and the fiber was disorderly intertwined. The paper was quite thick with various thicknesses (the average thickness was 0.58 mm) and the average diameter of the fiber was 20.71 μm. There were obvious transverse joint stripes on the fiber cell with longitudinal stripes characteristic of ramie or hemp. The main ingredients were cellulose, semi-cellulose, and lignin. Based on the above comprehensive joint experiments, the yellow-green fiber sheet in M68 was presumably ancient hemp paper made with the fixed-mold method. Moreover, it was speculated to be a package material since no characters were found. This paper is of great significance for studying the Chinese fixed-mold paper-making technique and for understanding the origins and developmental trajectory of ancient paper-making technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials in Cultural Heritage Conservation)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop