A note on Chinese Bamboo paper: The impact of modern manufacturing processes on its photostability

Papermaking has a special place in the cultural heritage of China. Papers made from different types of plant fibers were, and are still used for particular applications. Bamboo paper is a handmade paper that has been traditionally used for book printing and restoration of ancient paper objects since antiquity in China, whereas Xuan paper, the subject of recent previous study, is used for traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting. Following our previous approach on Xuan paper, four modern Bamboo papers manufactured using traditional or chemically-facilitated techniques were artificially aged by UVA radiation and changes to their optical properties were evaluated by reflectance and 3D-fluorescence spectroscopies. Paper samples produced by different methods displayed different fluorescence spectra and UVA photolysis of paper resulted in decreases in the fluorescence intensities and reflectance values, manifested as differing photoyellowing of the papers. Assays of reactive oxygen species, ROS, revealed that papers made by chemically-assisted pulping methods generally produce more hydrogen peroxide or superoxide radicals than those made by traditional methods, which correlates with their relative yellowing rates. Different spatial distributions of calcium and chlorine were also observed by SEM/EDS analysis in the chemically-manufactured papers, probably arising from the specific pulping and/or bleaching chemicals used in their manufacture.