Abstract

Dryness and weakness are the most common aspects of deterioration of vegetable-tanned leather artifacts that are in uncontrolled environmental conditions in museums, stores, excavation areas, and libraries. This study focuses for the first time, on evaluating the efficiency of peppermint oil at different concentrations for the improvement of some studied characteristics. New vegetable-tanned leather samples made from goatskin were prepared. The artificial heat ageing technique was used to prepare both aged and dry vegetable-tanned leather samples. The aged samples were treated with peppermint oil at different concentrations. Analytical techniques were used to evaluate the treatment process, including pH value, mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation), change of colour, contact angle, investigation of the surface morphology using scanning electron microscope, and attenuated total reflection – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The results showed that all concentrations of peppermint oil improved the properties studied, with the second concentration yielding the most significant improvements. This study highlights the potential of peppermint oil as a treatment for dry and degraded vegetable-tanned leather, offering a sustainable solution to preserve and restore historical leather artifacts.