LEGO® under stage light: Studying the ABS light-stability through a complementary multi-analytical approach

Abstract

Throughout the 20th Century, plastics found extensive use in fashion, art, and design due to their versatile nature. However, their degradation over time poses challenges, impacting material integrity, particularly in museum collections. To tackle this issue, different scientific techniques have been employed to study polymers. In this work, a complementary multi-analytical approach is proposed to investigate the light stability of ABS compounds, selecting LEGO® bricks as reference material. The method is based on fluorescence emission and lifetime integrating point-like analysis and imaging systems to corroborate chemical and spatial information specifically addressed at the surface level. The latter has shown promising results in studying ABS objects, offering insights into degradation and aiding conservation efforts.