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Synthesis and fading of eighteenth-century Prussian blue pigments: a combined study by spectroscopic and diffractive techniques using laboratory and synchrotron radiation sources
- Source :
- Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, International Union of Crystallography, 2013, 20, pp.460. ⟨10.1107/S0909049513004585⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2013
- Publisher :
- International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), 2013.
-
Abstract
- Prussian blue, a hydrated iron(III) hexacyanoferrate(II) complex, is a synthetic pigment discovered in Berlin in 1704. Because of both its highly intense color and its low cost, Prussian blue was widely used as a pigment in paintings until the 1970s. The early preparative methods were rapidly recognized as a contributory factor in the fading of the pigment, a fading already known by the mid-eighteenth century. Herein two typical eighteenth-century empirical recipes have been reproduced and the resulting pigment analyzed to better understand the reasons for this fading. X-ray absorption and Mössbauer spectroscopy indicated that the early syntheses lead to Prussian blue together with variable amounts of an undesirable iron(III) product. Pair distribution functional analysis confirmed the presence of nanocrystalline ferrihydrite, Fe10O14(OH)2, and also identified the presence of alumina hydrate, Al10O14(OH)2, with a particle size of ∼15 Å. Paint layers prepared from these pigments subjected to accelerated light exposure showed a tendency to turn green, a tendency that was often reported in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century books. The presence of particles of hydrous iron(III) oxides was also observed in a genuine eighteenth-century Prussian blue sample obtained from a polychrome sculpture.
- Subjects :
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Inorganic chemistry
Analytical chemistry
02 engineering and technology
010402 general chemistry
01 natural sciences
Cobalt blue
chemistry.chemical_compound
Ferrihydrite
Pigment
X-Ray Diffraction
Materials Testing
Paint
Mössbauer spectroscopy
Instrumentation
Prussian blue
Radiation
Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission
Equipment Design
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
humanities
Nanocrystalline material
0104 chemical sciences
Equipment Failure Analysis
chemistry
visual_art
visual_art.visual_art_medium
Colorimetry
[PHYS.COND.CM-SCE]Physics [physics]/Condensed Matter [cond-mat]/Strongly Correlated Electrons [cond-mat.str-el]
Absorption (chemistry)
Ferrocyanide
0210 nano-technology
Synchrotrons
Ferrocyanides
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 09090495 and 16005775
- Volume :
- 20
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Synchrotron Radiation
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a4b7e98dc9ed81cf1a1654ba9bbcd16f