In recent years, the demand for the protection and restoration of cultural heritage has become increasingly urgent. Particularly for paper-based cultural relics such as ancient books and paintings, their restoration is especially important due to their unique nature and susceptibility to environmental damage. Among various restoration materials, calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) has been widely studied and applied in the protection of paper-based cultural relics. However, commercial Ca(OH)₂ materials have issues such as a large particle size and slow carbonation. In order to address these issues, this study employed carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a support, on which nano-sized Ca(OH)₂ crystals were grown in situ on its surface, followed by loading with TiO₂ nanoparticles, successfully preparing a multifunctional paper-based cultural relic restoration material with reinforcement, deacidification, anti-aging, and antimicrobial properties. It is worth noting that by in situ growing Ca(OH)₂ on the surface of CMC, particle size control, uniform dispersion, and the fixation of Ca(OH)₂ can be achieved. CMC is used to enhance the mechanical strength of the paper, Ca(OH)₂ is used for deacidification, and TiO₂ is used for anti-aging and antimicrobial purposes. This study provides a new approach and method for the restoration of paper-based cultural relics, simplifying traditional multi-step processes and avoiding potential impacts on the cultural relics from multiple repairs.

Ancient artifacts like bronze often suffer corrosion from water and soil, requiring effective surface coatings to prevent further decay. Herein, we developed a vacuum-assisted method to prevent bronzes as a model from surface corrosion. The graphene oxide (GO)-based coatings can be toughly infiltrated into the rough bronze surfaces with freezing drying. Scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy demonstrate the advantages of this method in micro-nano coating protection, namely, the complete coating covering the crack channels. The coated bronze still has a lower corrosion rate than the uncoated sample, confirmed by electrochemical methods under 3 wt.% NaCl solutions. Focused ion beam cross-section imaging confirms a continuous protective layer in the coated sample, contrasting with the compact oxide layer on uncoated bronze. This method offers a promising solution for the sustainable preservation of bronze artifacts and other metal relics.