Most historical buildings and cultural heritage monuments are exposed to the elements and, therefore subject to different environmental conditions that can cause water erosion in their structures. Fighting the wear and tear implies constant economic investments because treatments for the conservation of these monuments must be applied frequently and through elaborated processes that sometimes are not suitable for outdoor applications. Carbonate rocks, present in most of such constructions, are highly prone to weathering.
Currently, there is a lack of products that offer long term protection without altering the aesthetics and functionality of said heritage buildings. Researchers from the Department of Applied Chemistry and Physics of the University of León and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) have developed a procedure to protect objects and surfaces of rocky origin using a graphene oxide preparation, that has proved to offer the protection needed against weathering and erosion without altering the properties or characteristics of the treated surfaces. The objective of the institutions represented is to license the technology in order to bring this innovation to the market.
Institution: Universidad de León / CSIC
TRL: 4-5
Protection status: Patent application
Contact: Laura Núñez / laura@viromii.com
