10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b00770.s001 Claire Gervais Claire Gervais Marie-Angélique Languille Marie-Angélique Languille Giulia Moretti Giulia Moretti Solenn Réguer Solenn Réguer X‑ray Photochemistry of Prussian Blue Cellulosic Materials: Evidence for a Substrate-Mediated Redox Process American Chemical Society 2015 cellulosic substrate cellulosic fiber substrate redox behavior heritage science alkali cation content model heritage materials Prussian Blue Cellulosic Materials multifunctional materials electrochemical viewpoint pigment Prussian heritage materials 2015-07-28 00:00:00 Journal contribution https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/X_ray_Photochemistry_of_Prussian_Blue_Cellulosic_Materials_Evidence_for_a_Substrate_Mediated_Redox_Process/2146045 Beside its promising applications in the design of multifunctional materials, batteries and biosensors, the pigment Prussian blue is still studied in heritage science because of its capricious fading behavior due to a complex light-induced redox mechanism. We studied model heritage materials composed of Prussian blue embedded into a cellulosic fiber substrate by means of X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy. Significant X-ray radiation damage was observed and characterized. X-ray radiation induced first a reduction of Prussian blue, in a similar way to what visible light does, followed by a complete degradation of the pigment and the formation of iron­(III) oxyhydroxide. We took advantage of this X-ray photochemistry to investigate in depth the redox behavior of Prussian blue. We could particularly demonstrate that the rate, extent, and quality of Prussian blue photoreduction can be tuned by modifying the pH and alkali cation content of the cellulosic substrate. The present study represents a step further in the understanding of Prussian blue heritage materials from an electrochemical viewpoint and provides evidence of substrate-mediated photochemistry applicable to a wider class of Prussian blue composite materials.