Modern and contemporary art materials are generally prone to irreversible colour changes upon exposure to light and oxidizing agents. Graphene can be produced in thin large sheets, blocks ultraviolet light, and is impermeable to oxygen, moisture and corrosive agents; therefore, it has the potential to be used as a transparent layer for the protection of art objects in museums, during storage and transportation. Here we show that a single-layer or multilayer graphene veil, produced by chemical vapour deposition, can be deposited over artworks to protect them efficiently against colour fading, with a protection factor of up to 70%. We also show that this process is reversible since the graphene protective layer can be removed using a soft rubber eraser without causing any damage to the artwork. We have also explored a complementary contactless graphene-based route for colour protection that is based on the deposition of graphene on picture framing glass for use when the direct application of graphene is not feasible due to surface roughness or artwork fragility. Overall, the present results are a proof of concept of the potential use of graphene as an effective and removable protective advanced material to prevent colour fading in artworks.

现代和当代艺术材料通常在暴露于光和氧化剂时容易发生不可逆的颜色变化。石墨烯可以生产成很薄的大片，阻挡紫外线，并且不透氧、防潮和防腐蚀剂；因此，它有可能用作透明层，用于保护博物馆中的艺术品，在储存和运输过程中。在这里，我们展示了通过化学气相沉积生产的单层或多层石墨烯面纱可以沉积在艺术品上，以有效地保护它们免受褪色，保护系数高达 70%。我们还表明，这个过程是可逆的，因为石墨烯保护层可以使用软橡皮擦去除而不会对艺术品造成任何损坏。我们还探索了一种互补的基于非接触式石墨烯的颜色保护路线，该路线基于石墨烯在相框玻璃上的沉积，以便在由于表面粗糙或艺术品易碎而无法直接应用石墨烯时使用。总体而言，目前的结果证明了石墨烯作为一种有效且可移除的保护性先进材料的潜在用途，以防止艺术品褪色。