Abstract:
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Precise microanalytical techniques are essential in many
fields such as cultural heritage materials, showing complex layered
microstructures containing a wide range of materials of diverse nature
and hardness. Noninvasive sample manipulation and preparation is
required to avoid, as much as possible, sample contamination, which
may strongly limit the materials identification. The method proposed
consists in the application of thin gold or carbon protecting layers
before embedding the samples in synthetic resin for microtoming. The
validity and optimal procedure is checked for those materials most
often found on the surface of paintings: varnishes (natural resins and
wax). An artwork sample is similarly prepared and analyzed by optical
microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS), micro-infrared spectroscopy (µFTIR/µSR-FTIR), and X-ray
diffraction (µSR-XRD) with synchrotron light. |