Some New Analytical Techniques for Use in Conservation

Abstract

Standard analytical equipment found in modem laboratories can answer most questions asked about samples. New equipment designs or new approaches are sometimes needed, however, to answer very specific questions that arise. Examples of four techniques with potential applications and benefits to the field of art conservation are described. (1) Infrared mapping microspectroscopy is a method used to provide a “picture” of the location of components in a small sample, such as a paint cross section, based on an array of infrared spectra. (2) Environmental scanning electron microscopy (E-SEM) has the capabilities of a SEM but is especially designed to operate at near atmospheric pressures without conductive coatings on the samples. It can also be used to image dynamic processes in real time at high resolution. (3) Organic elemental analysis (OEA or CHNS-O) provides quantitative information on the amounts of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and oxygen (O) in a combustible material that can be used for the characterization of organic materials in a sample. (4) Photo-induced chemiluminescence (PICL) emissions produced from solid samples at room temperature can be measured by a new instrument and used to determine evidence of sample oxidative degradation long before the deterioration is manifested in any physically measurable quantity

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