A study of non-bounded/bounded water and water mobility in different agar gels

Agar is an interesting and versatile biopolymer capable of forming hydrogels useful in different applications. In particular, in the field of Cultural Heritage agar gels are often used as tools for cleaning the surfaces of artifacts. Agar gels are thermoreversible, peelable materials, exhibiting high retention of water and an intrinsic cleaning capability that can be increased andmodulated by loading different cleaning agents. Agar gels are able to solubilize and retain dirt, and allow a confined release of the liquid phase,which is especially important when they are applied on water sensitive substrates. A detailed knowledge of the role of water in agar gels and of water/agar interactions is important to fully understand the properties and performances of agar gels as cleaning materials. Here we report the results of a systematic study aimed at exploring the water state and the types of water (i.e. bound non-freezable, bound freezable and freezable bulk-like) in agar hydrogels prepared from four different types of commercial agar powders. The influence of agar concentration on the water behaviour in the hydrogels was also investigated. The totalwater content, the identification and quantification of the different types ofwater was carried out by gravimetric, thermogravimetric and calorimetric analyses, while water mobility and localization in the gel network were investigated by unilateral 1H NMR. Moreover, 1H NMR depth profiles of agar gels applied on Noto stone specimenswere collected to monitor the gel deformation due towater release and to evaluate the ability of the gel in controlling the water release into a porous material.