ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2557-7466

Date Awarded

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.Sc.)

Department

Chemistry

Advisor

Tyler K Meldrum

Committee Member

John C Poutsma

Committee Member

Nathanael M Kidwell

Abstract

Acrylic paint is a modern artistic material made of colored pigment and polymeric binder. Acrylic binder requires fundamental study at the molecular level to understand its physical properties for purposes of art conservation and general polymer chemistry. The research presented in this thesis uses single-sided nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as a non-invasive and non-destructive way to measure relaxation and self-diffusion, which provide insight to molecular mobility and physical properties of proton-containing samples. Specifically, this study relies on T2 relaxation to gain insight to regions within acrylic paint with different molecular mobilities. In both dry and wet paint, relaxometry data revealed two relaxation behaviors, each representing a region with unique binder mobility. Furthermore, the effect of pigment concentration on relaxation behavior of wet paint suggested molecules in acrylic binder undergo chemical exchange between these regions with differing mobilities. The characterization of local molecular environments in acrylic paint provides a foundation for future studies of acrylic polymers and contributes fundamental knowledge about the chemistry of acrylic paints to support their long-term preservation.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-7g4z-np45

Rights

© The Author

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