New nanomaterials for consolidating stone.

A novel sol-gel synthesis, in which a surfactant acts to make the pore size of the gel network more coarse and uniform, is shown to provide an effective alternative for the consolidation of stone. The new mesoporous silica avoids the main inconvenience of current commercial consolidants, which is their tendency to crack inside the pores of the stone. Since the cracking of xerogels is a well-known drawback of the sol-gel process, the synthesis presented here can be extended to other applications. Finally, preliminary studies of the effectiveness of the novel surfactant-templated sol in consolidating a typical biocalcareous stone are also discussed.