Abstract:Coating measures are of great significance to the conservation and restoration of cultural relics. Coating protection can effectively block the impact of environmental factors (moisture, oxygen, air pollutants) on cultural relics and improve their resistance to corrosion. At present, acrylic resin B72 and silicone are widely used in the field of cultural relic conservation. They have significant effects on the conservation of cultural relics in collections, but their UV resistance is not good and cannot well meet the requirements of long-term conservation of outdoor cultural relics. In recent years, fluorocarbon materials have gradually attracted the attention of cultural relic conservators due to their excellent weather and aging resistance. In our study, we selected a new type of fluorocarbon material—F2311 fluoroelastomer—as the research object. Recently, there have been reports on the application of fluoroelastomers to the conservation of cultural relics such as metal, pottery, and polychrome ones, as well as murals, but the reports mostly focus on applications; that is, there are few studies to verify or investigate the conservation effects of fluoroelastomers from a theoretical perspective. In order to determine the resistance to aging of a fluoroelastomer and its applicability in the field of cultural relic conservation, the F2311 fluoroelastomer, the acrylic resin B72 and two kinds of silicone coatings (TEOS and industrial product KSE-OH300), were selected for a performance comparison study. They were tested for long-term aging through accelerated ultraviolet aging experiments, and their structure and performance were characterized in terms of infrared spectra, contact angles and color differences. The results show that:1) the fluoroelastomer F2311 had excellent UV resistance, and its color, structure and hydrophobic property did not change significantly under the action of long-term ultraviolet irradiation. It is speculated that this fluoroelastomer can be used for long-term outdoor or indoor cultural relic conservation, especially in complex storage environments; 2) B72 underwent oxidative degradation under ultraviolet irradiation and this degradation reaction started at the beginning of ultraviolet irradiation, which was proved by corresponding infrared spectra. The oxidative degradation of B72 under ultraviolet light led to the yellowing of the sealing film and caused color differences on the surface of cultural relics. It is speculated that B72 is not suitable for long-term conservation of outdoor cultural relics; 3) the hydrophobic properties of the two kinds of silicone materials were average after film formation, the structures were prone to becoming unstable under ultraviolet radiation, and they also became yellow. It is speculated that these two kinds of silicones are also not suitable for long-term conservation of outdoor cultural relics. This study evaluated the UV resistance of the materials to investigate their aging resistance and their applicability in the field of cultural relic conservation. The results indicate that the new coating material, the fluoroelastomer F2311, has better UV resistance than B72 and the two kinds of silicones. This work could provide references for the selection of coating materials for cultural relics.