New Progress of Inorganic Materials in Heritage Science

Dear Colleagues,

In today’s world, and given the growing number of natural hazards and anthropogenic disasters, the preservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage has become paramount. The unique capacity of Heritage to join together different individuals, promote social inclusion and contribute to a progressively sustainable society has, without a doubt, contributed to the inclusion of the protection and safeguard of the world’s Heritage in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as Target 11.4.

Inorganic materials are widely represented in Heritage, likely due to their availability, physical and chemical resistance to environmental factors, and significant preservation even when handling and storage are performed under inadequate conditions. Moreover, despite generally undergoing decay at a slower rate than their organic counterparts, artefacts, artworks, built heritage, and natural heritage constituted by inorganic materials are still subject to degradation, leading to irreplaceable losses for future generations. The most advanced answer to degradation frequently lies in the search for materials that, being chemically compatible and aesthetically non-interfering, can mitigate or even block the destructive process going on. Likewise, the characterisation of assets and development of methodologies for conservation are fundamental practices for the long-term preservation of Heritage.

This Special Issue aims to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. We welcome works in material science, chemistry, geology, nanotechnology and nanoscience, heritage science, and others based on inorganic materials for consolidation and conservation purposes. Works focusing on developing new methodologies and materials for other research purposes in the Heritage field are also considered. Although the issue is focused on inorganic materials, hybrid materials are also a field of interest. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Development of new materials for Cultural and Natural Heritage conservation or consolidation;
• Application of innovative methodologies for the characterisation of inorganic materials in Cultural and Natural Heritage;
• Sustainable materials in/for Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Research articles, review articles, and short communications are welcomed. Manuscripts reporting case studies will also be considered.

Dr. Teresa Ferreira
Dr. Patrícia Moita
Dr. Cristina Galacho
Dr. Mafalda Costa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Heritage is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.