Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
397
Abstract
Alkoxysilanes, low-viscosity monomers capable of polymerizing into the porous network of stone by a sol-gel
process, are widely used as consolidants in the restoration of stone monuments. However, since consolidation is a
non-reversible application capable of causing serious harmful side effects to the original material, stone consolidation is almost always considered a very risky intervention. Alkoxysilanes are insoluble in water, so co-solvented
systems are very often used, but even knowing that the solvent is a determinant parameter for sol-gel reactions,
there is still a lack of information regarding how it can influence the stone-alkoxysilane affinity. For two different
tetraethoxysilane-acidic co-solvented systems we are reporting both the morphological characteristics showed by
gels formed in situ and the affinity reached with the stone in the sandstone consolidation process. Aqueous solutions
of ethanol and methyl-ethyl-ketone (MEK) were the solvents compared. SEM and 29 Si Solid State NMR were used
to determine the alkoxysilane performance on these silicic-based materials. It was found that using MEK solutions
resulted in appreciable sandstone-alkoxysilane interaction, forming a more homogeneous film. On the other hand,
ethanol does not promote alkoxysilane-sandstone compatibility. A brittle film is obtained when ethanol is used.
Introduction
In recent years, an apparent acceleration in the rate of
stone decay and the growing worldwide interest in preserving historic buildings are promoting a significant
increase in the number of studies on restoration. Using
alkoxysilane-based products as stone consolidants to
preserve decayed quartz-bearing rocks, like sandstone
in historical buildings, has become a common practice in the last decades [13]. The market impact is
indicated by the fact that 50% of non-funcionalized
silicon compounds are directed towards architectural
coatings and mineral consolidation [4]. Alkoxysilanes,
such as tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), are applied as low
viscosity monomers or dimers in solutions that may include water, ethanol, other organic solvents (generally
This paper is dedicated to Professor Kohei Tamao, 2002
398
Scheme 1.
Application of IR spectroscopy to study alkoxysilane-silanol reactions is limited by the strong background absorption bands of bulk siloxane structures
[14]. However, we have shown recently that it is possible to determine the sandstone decay degree by Solid
State 29 Si NMR methods. We have also suggested that
the value of consolidation obtained is consistent with
some particular modifications in the Q2 Q3 region in
the 29 Si NMR spectrum, which can be attributed to
the chemical compatibility achieved between the alkoxysilane species and the surface silanols on the rock
[11].
In the present work we use 29 Si NMR methods
and SEM to investigate how the TEOS consolidation
process is influenced by the use of different kinds of
solvents in aqueous-acidic systems, in this particular
case ethanol and methyl-ethyl-ketone.
Experimental
Procedure
Different 5 5 3 cm (35.0 1 g) samples of
sound (BET surface area = 5.3 m2 g1 ) and partially decayed (6.2 m2 g1 ) pink quarry stone, the
most common sandstone employed in Mexicos central region, were collected from Jaral Church during
recent renovations. Mineralogical analysis and XRD
confirmed that both samples belonged to the same
bed, showing also that the composition of the sound
stone is mainly albite and quartz, with a small quantity
of hipersterne and hematite. Partially decayed stones
show a lower level of albite and diverse levels of kaolinite [11, 17]. This is evidence that sodium feldspar
(albite) has been hydrolyzed to clay materials in the
process known as kaolinization [18].
Data for each sample were obtained after its collection, and again after they all were sprayed and
permitted to react for 3 weeks in black plastic bags
with 10 mL of two different TEOS solutions at pH = 3
(hydrochloric acid was used). The consolidant solutions used were (% vol): (1) 65% TEOS, 25% EtOH
and 10% water; (2) 65% TEOS, 25% MEK and 10%
water. We named them TEOS EtOH and TEOS MEK,
respectively.
For the compatibility assessment, blank experiments were carried out mixing powders of the untreated samples with both the different xerogels obtained aside from TEOS MEK and TEOS EtOH solutions, in the same proportion as we used in the
consolidation part.
399
Chemical reagents
Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), 99+% was obtained from
ethanolysis of SiCl4 in a pilot plant facility [19].
Reagent grade solvents used were hydrochloric acid
(HCl), ethanol (EtOH) and methyl-ethyl-ketone
(MEK) and were purchased from Aldrich. All reagents
were used as received without any further purification.
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
A palladium-gold alloy was vacuum evaporated onto
the dried samples. They were then investigated using
a LAICA S-420 Scanning Electron Microscope.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
29 Si
29 Si
400
Figure 4. 29 Si NMR spectra of partially decayed sandstone consolidated using (a) TEOS with MEK, and (b) TEOS with EtOH.
Conclusions
The sandstone consolidation process with alkoxysilanes is decidedly influenced by the kind of co-solvent
used, including water, in the solutions.
MEK allows appreciable chemical interactions
between the sandstone and the alkoxysilanes. This
affinity was observed with NMR techniques through
the signal increase observed in both the Q2 and Q3
regions. The way the hydrolyzed species attach to
specific silanols in the stone is still unclear.
Lack of chemical affinity and bad quality coatings
are obtained using ethanol, a very polar solvent. This
401
References
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank CONACYT and SIGHOCONACYT (Mexico), grant 19990204002, for financial support.
402
17.
18.
19.