DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Revealing the Distribution of Metal Carboxylates in Oil Paint from the Micro‐ to Nanoscale

Journal Article · · Angewandte Chemie
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Scientific Research Department, Division of Conservation National Gallery of Art 2000B South Club Drive Landover MD 20785 USA
  2. IPANEMA CNRS ministère de la Culture et de la Communication Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, USR 3461 Université Paris-Saclay 91128 Gif-sur-Yvette France
  3. Nanoscale Device Characterization Division Physical Measurement Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg MD 20899 USA, Maryland Nanocenter University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 USA
  4. Nanoscale Device Characterization Division Physical Measurement Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg MD 20899 USA
  5. Advanced Light Source Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 1 Cyclotron Rd. Berkeley CA 94720 USA
  6. Department of Chemistry William &, Mary 540 Landrum Drive Williamsburg VA 23188 USA

Abstract Oil paints comprise pigments, drying oils, and additives that together confer desirable properties, but can react to form metal carboxylates (soaps) that may damage artworks over time. To obtain information on soap formation and aggregation, we introduce a new tapping‐mode measurement paradigm for the photothermal induced resonance (PTIR) technique that enables nanoscale IR spectroscopy and imaging on highly heterogenous and rough paint thin sections. PTIR is used in combination with μ‐computed tomography and IR microscopy to determine the distribution of metal carboxylates in a 23‐year old oil paint of known formulation. Results show that heterogeneous agglomerates of Al‐stearate and a Zn‐carboxylate complex with Zn‐stearate nano‐aggregates in proximity are distributed randomly in the paint. The gradients of zinc carboxylates are unrelated to the Al‐stearate distribution. These measurements open a new chemically sensitive nanoscale observation window on the distribution of metal soaps that can bring insights for understanding soap formation in oil paint.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
NONE; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1544905
Journal Information:
Angewandte Chemie, Journal Name: Angewandte Chemie Journal Issue: 34 Vol. 131; ISSN 0044-8249
Publisher:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Germany
Language:
English

References (33)

Assessing Chemical Heterogeneity at the Nanoscale in Mixed-Ligand Metal-Organic Frameworks with the PTIR Technique journal February 2014
Time-Dependent ATR-FTIR Spectroscopic Studies on Fatty Acid Diffusion and the Formation of Metal Soaps in Oil Paint Model Systems journal March 2018
Assessing Chemical Heterogeneity at the Nanoscale in Mixed-Ligand Metal-Organic Frameworks with the PTIR Technique journal February 2014
Time-Dependent ATR-FTIR Spectroscopic Studies on Fatty Acid Diffusion and the Formation of Metal Soaps in Oil Paint Model Systems journal March 2018
Characterisation of metal carboxylates by Raman and infrared spectroscopy in works of art: Characterisation of metal carboxylates by Raman and infrared spectroscopy in works of art journal July 2014
Phase Separation on Mixed-Monolayer-Protected Metal Nanoparticles: A Study by Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy journal May 2007
Chemical Imaging Beyond the Diffraction Limit: Experimental Validation of the PTIR Technique journal October 2012
Heterogeneity of the Transmembrane Protein Conformation in Purple Membranes Identified by Infrared Nanospectroscopy journal September 2017
Attenuated total reflection micro FTIR characterisation of pigment–binder interaction in reconstructed paint films journal May 2008
Nanoscale chemical imaging of individual chemotherapeutic cytarabine-loaded liposomal nanocarriers journal September 2018
Effects of chain packing and chain mobility on the raman spectra of biomembranes journal January 1980
Molecular dynamics of palmitic acid and lead palmitate in cross-linked linseed oil films: Implications from deuterium magnetic resonance for lead soap formation in traditional oil paintings journal February 2018
Revealing the Nature and Distribution of Metal Carboxylates in Jackson Pollock’s Alchemy (1947) by Micro-Attenuated Total Reflection FT-IR Spectroscopic Imaging journal December 2016
Quantitative Chemical Analysis at the Nanoscale Using the Photothermal Induced Resonance Technique journal December 2017
AFM-IR: Technology and Applications in Nanoscale Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemical Imaging journal December 2016
Chloride Incorporation Process in CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3– x Cl x Perovskites via Nanoscale Bandgap Maps journal November 2015
Nanophotonic Atomic Force Microscope Transducers Enable Chemical Composition and Thermal Conductivity Measurements at the Nanoscale journal August 2017
Insights into Epoxy Network Nanostructural Heterogeneity Using AFM-IR journal December 2015
Investigating the Photocatalytic Degradation of Oil Paint using ATR-IR and AFM-IR journal March 2017
Determination of Polypeptide Conformation with Nanoscale Resolution in Water journal June 2018
Reaction of Pb(II) and Zn(II) with Ethyl Linoleate To Form Structured Hybrid Inorganic–Organic Complexes: A Model for Degradation in Historic Paint Films journal September 2016
Beating beats mixing in heterodyne detection schemes journal March 2015
Elemental and Molecular Segregation in Oil Paintings due to Lead Soap Degradation journal September 2017
Correlative nonlinear optical microscopy and infrared nanoscopy reveals collagen degradation in altered parchments journal May 2016
Coordination geometry of lead carboxylates – spectroscopic and crystallographic evidence journal January 2015
An infrared spectroscopic study of the nature of zinc carboxylates in oil paintings journal January 2015
Nanoscale partitioning of paclitaxel in hybrid lipid–polymer membranes journal January 2018
Theory of infrared nanospectroscopy by photothermal induced resonance journal June 2010
Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy Beyond the Diffraction Limit journal July 2015
A study of zinc soap aggregates in a late 19th century painting by R.G. Rivers at the Queensland Art Gallery journal December 2005
A New Methodology for Accelerated Corrosion Testing journal December 2003
Metal Stearate Distributions in Modern Artists' Oil Paints: Surface and Cross-Sectional Investigation of Reference Paint Films Using Conventional and Synchrotron Infrared Microspectroscopy journal October 2012
Deterioration in Abstract Expressionist Paintings: Analysis of Zinc Oxide Paint Layers in Works from the Collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution journal January 2011