Non-destructive compositional investigation of historical enamels by combining portable alpha-PIXE and XRF imaging techniques H.C. Santos, C. Caliri, L. Pappalardo, R. Catalano, A. Orlando, F. Rizzo and F.P. Romano 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 1
Outline Samples Experimental Setup portable Alpha-PIXE portable XRF scanner Results and Discussion 2 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia
Samples Artwork enamels(smalto) on silvered support – dated back to XI-XII century A.Plaque – white, yellow, brown, blue and red; B.Pot – white C.Bottle – blue and green Are they forgeries? 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 3 8 A) B)C)
Approach – non-destructive techniques Alpha-PIXE (Particle Induced X-ray Emission) Characterize the glass matrix high ionization cross section for low Z identify the former, fluxes and stabilizers low penetration XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) Identify the elemental composition of the colorants and opacifier High ionization cross section for medium and high Z 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 4
Experimental setup 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 5
Alpha-PIXE 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 6 ParameterValue Primary beam particle of 5 MeV energy (depth m) Beam size8 mm diameter obtained by using a collimator SDD Detector20 mm 2 active area; 125 eV energy resolution at 5.9 keV Measurement time3600 sec. Measurement geometry 45° and 90° incidence and detecting angles; 4 mm and 6 mm incidence and detecting distances
XRF scanning 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 7 ParameterValue X-ray source30 W Rh-anode tube Focusing OpticPolycapillary with a focal distance of 1 cm Beam size at the focus 26 m diameter at the Rh K-lines SDD Detector 50 mm 2 active area; 133 eV energy resolution at 5.9 keV Measurement geometry 45° and 45° incidence and detecting angles Area of scansion20x20 cm 2 (max.) Step-size 50 m in the scanning micro-XRF 500 m in the scanning macro-XRF Dwell time150 ms (including overhead) Measurement time6.5 h for a 400x400 pixel image
Results and Discussion 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 8
Alpha-PIXE 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 9 PIXE quantitative data obtained by measuring some enamels decorating artworks Former ( matrix of the glass ): SiO 2 Flux ( decrease the melting temperature ): Na 2 O and K 2 O Stabilizer: CaO Typology: alkali silica glass Enamel (Sample)Na 2 OMgOAl 2 O 3 SiO 2 K2OK2OCaOFe 2 O 3 PbO White (Plaque) Blue (Plaque) Brown (Plaque) Light blue (Bottle) White (Pot) Compounds presented higher values compared with ancient glass (XI-XII century)
XRF scanner - Plaque PyMca -Fast Fit (~2x10 4 spectra) Lead – less in the red Blue - Co Yellow - Cr(As,Pb) White - As Brown - Mn Red – Zn 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 10 Elemental distribution maps Zn in the red, As in the Yellow/white indicate recent manufacture
Red enamel – NNMA (PyMca) ZnS.CdSSe.BaSO4 (cadmium lithopone) 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 11
XRF scanner: Bottle and Pot Bottle Green –Cr Blue – Co Pot White – As, Pb 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 12
µ-XRF scanner: green enamel (Bottle) Cr, Ca, K and Pb: homogeneous Fe - inlay 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 13 Analysis of homogeneity of the green enamel Conclusion: Cr was used as colorant agent in the green enamel
Conclusions Alpha-PIXE Na, K and Ca characterize the enamels as alkali silica glass and the presence of Pb in high concentration(>20) suggests modern manufacture XRF scanner The elements Cr(green/yellow), Zn[Se, Ba, Cd](red) and the use of As characterize the enamels as modern – XVIII-XIX century Reference: Identification of forgeries in historical enamels by combining the non-destructive scanning XRF imaging and alpha-PIXE portable techniques DOI: /j.microc ° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 14
Grazie 101° Congresso SIF seteembre Roma, Italia 15