The Thermal Stability of Amur Cork Tree-Dyed Paper

Abstract Amur cork trees are one of the most important traditional natural dyes used, especially for functional production in ancient Chinese papers, due to religious reasons, their aesthetic aspects and antibacterial properties. The properties of Amur cork tree-dyed papers under dry-heat accelerating aging conditions were investigated via optical observation, pH, scanning electron microscopy, thermal difference, tensile strength and folding endurance examinations. The results showed that the concentration of Amur cork trees greatly affected the properties of paper. The changes in surface color, pH, morphology and mechanical properties after the artificial dry-heat aging tests revealed that the paper thermal stability was affected by the Amur cork tree content. A suitable concentration of Amur cork tree colorant is good for maintaining paper’s thermal stability due to chemical bonding. Agglomerated colorant dyes might decompose weak acidic materials, which accelerates paper degradation.