Film-forming cleaning systems on polyvinyl chloride base for corrosion products removal from historic copper items found at archaeological excavations of Mes Aynak (Afghanistan)

An innovative polyvinyl alcohol-based film formation system specifically designed for the controlled and selective cleaning of copper-based artifacts is presented. Traditional cleaning procedures are usually performed using mechanical and/or chemical methods. The innovative system proposed in this work combines the benefits of chemical and mechanical processing by trapping the complexing agent in a liquid polymer matrix that is capable of forming a solid thin film upon drying. (author)