Lead(II) Formate in Rembrandt's Night Watch: Detection and Distribution from the Macro- to the Micro-scale

The Night Watch, painted in 1642 and on view in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is considered Rembrandt's most famous work. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) mapping at multiple length scales revealed the unusual presence of lead(II) formate, Pb(HCOO)₂, in several areas of the painting. Until now, this compound was never reported in historical oil paints. In order to get insights into this phenomenon, one possible chemical pathway was explored thanks to the preparation and micro-analysis of model oil paint media prepared by heating linseed oil and lead(II) oxide (PbO) drier as described in 17^th century recipes. Synchrotron radiation based micro-XRPD (SR-μ-XRPD) and infrared microscopy were combined to identify and map at the micro-scale various neo-formed lead-based compounds in these model samples. Both lead(II) formate and lead(II) formate hydroxide Pb(HCOO)(OH) were detected and mapped, providing new clues regarding the reactivity of lead driers in oil matrices in historical paintings.     

Thermal behaviour of metal soaps from biodegradable rubber seed oil

Soaps are a class of surface active compounds derived from natural oils and fats. Double decomposition reactions permit the synthesis of metallic soaps, which are long-chain carboxylates of metal ions, from alkaline ones such as sodium, potassium or ammonium soaps. Metallic soaps are commercially important as they find use in diverse applications such as driers in paints or inks, components of lubricating greases, heat stabilizers for plastics (especially PVC), catalysts and water proofing agents, fuel additives and cosmetic products amongst others. Many of these applications are related to the thermal properties of these compounds and the thermal behaviour of metal soaps in terms of decomposition processes is of great importance. Rubber seed oil (RSO) which is an unsaturated triglyceride abundantly available in Nigeria, India and Australia is an excellent starting material for metal soaps. In this study rubber seed oil having 2.2% myristic acid, 7.6% palmitic acid, 10.7% stearic acid, 20.61% oleic acid, 36.62% linoleic acid, 22.5% linolenic acid was used in making barium, calcium, cadmium and zinc soaps. The thermal behaviour of soaps (Ba, Ca, Cd and Zn) of rubber seed oil for use as additives in the processing of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was investigated by thermal gravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. The stability of the soaps was examined by thermogravimetry up to 873 K at a constant heating rate of 10 °C min⁻¹. The soaps were found to be thermally stable up to 473 K as they recorded less than 5% mass loss at this temperature with values of apparent activation energy for decomposition varying from 52 to 96 kJ mol⁻¹. Differential scanning calorimetric studies of the soaps revealed melting and decomposition behaviour of metal soaps.     

Simultaneous determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel by capillary electrophoresis using multiple short‐end injection

A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of free glycerol (FG) and total glycerol (TG) in biodiesel by CE using a short‐end multiple injection (SE/MI) configuration system is described. The sample preparation for FG involves the extraction of glycerol with water and for TG a saponification reaction is carried out followed by extraction as in the case of FG. The glycerol extracted in both cases is submitted to periodate oxidation and the iodate ions formed are measured on a CE‐SE/MI system. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that no analytical procedure has been previously reported for the determination of TG (or of FG and TG simultaneously) by CE. The optimum conditions for the saponification/extraction process were 1.25% KOH and 25°C, with a time of only 5 min, and biodiesel mass in the range of 50.0–200.0 mg can be used. Multiple injections were performed hydrodynamically with negative pressure as follows: 50 mbar/3s (FG sample); 50 mbar/6s (electrolyte spacer); 50 mbar/3s (TG sample). The linear range obtained was 1.55–46.5 mg/L with R²> 0.99. The LOD and LOQ were 0.16 mg/L and 0.47 mg/L, respectively for TG. The method provides acceptable throughput for application in quality control and monitoring biodiesel synthesis process. In addition, it offers simple sample preparation (saponification process), it can be applied to a variety biodiesel samples (soybean, castor, and waste cooking oils) and it can be used for the determination of two key parameters related to the biodiesel quality with a fast separation (less than 30 s) using an optimized CE‐SE/MI system.     

207Pb N.M.R. of lead(II) soaps in solid,liquid-crystalline and liquid phases

Abstract

²⁰⁷Pb N.M.R. data are reported for a number of even chain length lead(II) carboxylates (soaps) at various temperatures. At room temperature, the solid lead(II) decanoate and tetradecanoate show similar spectra, with a single metal ion site, and modest shielding anisotropy. As the temperature is increased, the soaps (hexanoate to octadecanoate) all form a highly ordered smectic phase, which gives a very broad ²⁰⁷Pb signal of linewidth comparable to that of the solid phase. At higher temperatures, the hexanoate to dodecanoate soaps form a lamellar L _α (smectic A) phase, whilst the longer chain length carboxylates melt directly to the liquid phase. Both the lamellar L _α and liquid phase give fairly sharp, isotropic signals, whose chemical shifts and linewidths are strongly temperature dependent. Possible explanations for this effect include paramagnetic contributions to the shielding tensor from low-lying electronic states of Pb(II), and contributions to the observed signal from different coordination species produced in the lead(II) carboxylate system. Although there are discrete changes in chemical shift at the phase transition, the magnitudes observed in all the phases are similar, suggesting that there are no dramatic changes in the metal coordination environment.     

Review of the use of NMR spectroscopy to investigate structure,reactivity, and dynamics of lead soap formation in paintings

Heavy metal carboxylate or soap formation is a widespread deterioration problem affecting oil paintings and other works of art bearing oil-based media. Lead soaps are prevalent in traditional oil paintings because lead white was the white pigment most frequently chosen by old masters for the paints and in some cases for the ground preparations, until the development of other white pigments from approximately the middle of the 18th century on, and because of the wide use of lead-tin yellow. In the latter part of the 19th century, lead white began to be replaced by zinc white. The factors that influence soap formation have been the focus of intense study starting in the late 1990s. Since 2014, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies have contributed a unique perspective on the issue by providing chemical, structural, and dynamic information about the species involved in the process, as well as the effects of environmental conditions such as relative humidity and temperature on the kinetics of the reaction(s). In this review, we explore recent insights into soap formation gained through solid-state NMR and single-sided NMR techniques.     

A Critical Review on the Analysis of Metal Soaps in Oil Paintings

Up to 70 % of the oil paintings conserved in collections present metal soaps, which result from the chemical reaction between metal ions present in the painted layers and free fatty acids from the lipidic binders. In recent decades, conservators and conservation scientists have been systematically identifying various and frequent conservation problems that can be linked to the formation of metal soaps. It is also increasingly recognized that metal soap formation may not compromise the integrity of paint so there is a need for careful assessment of the implications of metal soaps for conservation. This review aims to critically assess scientific literature related to commonly adopted analytical techniques for the analysis of metal soaps in oil paintings. A comparison of different analytical methods is provided, highlighting advantages associated with each, as well as limitations identified through the analysis of reference materials and applications to the analysis of samples from historical paintings.     

Multivariate optimization and validation studies in on-line pre-concentration system for lead determination in drinking water and saline waste from oil refinery

The present paper proposes an on-line pre-concentration procedure for lead determination in drinking water and saline waste from oil refinery by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). It is based on the sorption of lead (II) ions in a minicolumn of polyurethane foam loaded with 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) reagent. The optimization step was performed using Doehlert matrix involving the variables: sampling flow rate (SR), buffer concentration (BC), pH and eluent concentration (EC). The validation process was performed considering the parameters: linearity and other characteristics of the calibration curve, analytical features of on-line system, precision, robustness, effect of other ions in the pre-concentration system and accuracy. Using the established experimental conditions, the procedure allows lead determination with detection limit (3δ/S) of 0.4 μg l⁻¹, quantification limit (10δ/S) of 1.4 μg l⁻¹, and a precision, calculated as relative standard deviation (RSD) of 5.7 (n=8) and 2.1% (n=8) for lead concentration of 5 and 50 μg l⁻¹, respectively. The pre-concentration factor (PF) considering the ratio among the slopes of the analytical curves with and without pre-concentration is 51. The achieved recovery for lead determination in presence of several cations demonstrated that this procedure could be applied for analysis of water samples. The accuracy was confirmed by analysis of the standard reference material NIST 1640 Trace elements in natural water. The sorption process was characterized by the Langmuir isotherm. The method was applied for lead determination in drinking water collected in Salvador City, Brazil and in saline effluent samples from oil refinery. The lead content for 16 samples of drinking water analyzed varied from 0.77 to 6.98 μg l⁻¹.     

The miniaturised process for lead removal from water samples using novel bioconjugated sorbents

ABSTRACT

In the present study, novel bioconjugated sorbents (peptide and oligo-nucleotide on the cobalt aluminate nanomaterials) were used to remove lead through miniaturised process and the concentration of lead was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. For this aim, lead was collected on sorbent in mini tube, and the influences of experimental conditions (e.g. pH of sample, amount of sorbent, concentration of eluent, foreign ions) and retention parameters on the recovery of the lead element were examined. After the optimisation of experimental parameters, a successful separation was obtained at pH 7.5 with high (>95%) quantitative recovery and high precision (<10% relative standard deviation). Using the proposed bioconjugated sorbents, the lead in sea water and tap water samples could be practically and easily removed with 95% confidence level. The detection limits of this method for lead using oligonucleotide and peptide on the cobalt aluminate nanomaterials were 0.14 and 0.12 µg/L (3σ, N = 10) with sample-matched blanks. This method can be widely used as promising and cost-effective nanomaterials to remove lead from water systems.     

Well-defined PEPPSI-themed palladium–NHC complexes: synthesis,and catalytic application in the direct arylation of heteroarenes

In this study, a series of benzimidazolium salts were synthesized as unsymmetrical N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors. Benzimidazolium salts were used for synthesis of the PEPPSI (pyridine enhanced precatalyst preparation stabilization and initiation)-themed, six new Pd-complexes with the general formula [PdX₂(NHC)(pyridine)]. The structures of all compounds were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques such as ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and FT-IR. The more detailed structural characterization of four of the complexes was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. The catalytic activities of all Pd-complexes were evaluated in the direct arylation of the 2-acetylfuran and 2-acetylthiophene with aryl bromides in the presence of 1 mol% catalyst loading.     

Solubility of sodium soaps in aqueous salt solutions

The solubility of sodium soaps in dilute aqueous salt solutions has been systematically investigated by direct visual phase behavior observations. The added electrolytes, including simple inorganic salts and bulky organic salts, influence the solubility of sodium soaps in water, as represented by the varied soap Krafft point. Two inorganic salts, sodium chloride and sodium perchlorate, demonstrate a "salting-out" property. On the other hand, tetraalkylammonium bromides show an excellent ability to depress the soap Krafft point and enhance the soap solubility in water. With increasing the tetraalkylammonium ionic size, the degree of "salting-in" of soaps in water increases. However, solubility of pure tetraalkylammonium bromide in water decreases as the length of the alkyl chains increases. Furthermore, in the ternary water-tetrapentylammonium bromide (TPeAB)-sodium myristate (NaMy) system, we observed an upper cloud point phenomenon, which greatly shrinks the 1-phase micellar solution region in the phase diagram. This miscibility gap, together with the organic salt solubility limitation, restricts the use of tetraalkylammonium bromides with alkyl chains longer than 4 carbon atoms as effective soap solubility enhancement electrolytes. We also found that for sodium soap with a longer hydrocarbon chain, more tetrabutylammonium salt is required to reduce the soap Krafft point to room temperature.     

Spectroscopic investigation of a ‘Virgin of Sorrows’ canvas painting: A multi-method approach

The investigation of unmatched ancient objects is an attentive and arduous activity to conservation scientists. An important aspect of art analysis is the question on sampling and avoiding damage on the artefact during the study. A possible way to maximize the information that is extracted from the historical object is using several sensitive micro-analytical techniques on the same micro samples. As an illustration of this multi-method approach, in this work, a canvas painting ‘Virgin of Sorrows’ was studied and its materials were analysed in order to roughly date and to authenticate this object of art. Proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE), neutron activation analysis (NAA), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used, obtaining successful results. These methods allowed identifying the different inorganic pigments (iron oxide, carbon black, white lead, Prussian blue) as well as indigo. Optical microscopy and SEM revealed the layered structure of the samples, while FT-IR enabled to determine the nature of the varnish used (shellac). By using these complementary techniques, it was possible to identify the materials in the painting, which are indicative for the period of manufacturing the artwork.     

Coadsorption of carbofuran and lead at the water/silica interface. Possible impact on environment

Despite its extremely weak adsorption at the water/silica interface, carbofuran can, however, induce the coadsorption of metallic salts, like, for example, lead nitrate, and thus enhance its adsorption. We quantitatively studied this phenomenon with a depletion method and under concentration conditions close to the environmental ones. Heavy metal salt was found to positively adsorb, whereas carbofuran relative adsorption is generally slightly negative. This study provides evidence that considering these facts is of paramount importance in environmental prospects. To cite this article: G. Elmanfe et al., C. R. Chimie 9 (2006).     

Preparation of PbO nanocrystals via decomposition of lead oxalate

The present study reports the preparation and characterization of PbO nanocrystals obtained via a thermal decomposition route. The PbO nanocrystals were synthesized using lead oxalate powder as a precursor. Nanostructured products were investigated by means of XRD, TEM, FT-IR and XPS. The XRD results indicate that tetragonal phase β-PbO with a particle size of about 30–45 nm was obtained when the intermediate precipitate was calcined at 500 °C.     

Solutions of alkali soaps and water in fatty acids IX. The location of theL 2-phase in three-component systems of sodium soap — fatty acid — water,in view of the occurrence of acid soaps

Previous studies of the occurrence of acid soaps in systems containing a longchain sodium soap and the corresponding fatty acid, and the study of phase equilibria in the system sodium octanoate — octanoic acid — water, performed by our group at the beginning of the 1960s, show that the isotropic liquidL ₂-phase of the last mentioned system in its whole region of existence is situated in that part in which acid soaps occur. This provides an explanation for the fact that theL ₂-phase itself contains acid sodium octanoates in all regions. TheL ₂-phase has its origin in the water-free melt of fatty acid and neutral soap in which these components react with each other under the formation of an acid soap. When water is added to the system, this water-free acid soap is transformed into different hydrated acid soaps. In a large region of concentration, there is an extremely close relation between theL ₂-phase and the liquid-crystalline lamellarD-phase, which itself consists of hydrated acid soaps. At its outermost water-rich tip, theL ₂-phase is in equilibrium with theL ₁-phase of the system, just above the+LAC, that is, with the most dilute aqueous soap solution in which acid soap still may be formed in aqueous environment. Formation of acid soap is a fundamental requirement for the existence of this isotropic liquidL ₂-phase.     

肉豆蔻酸和棕榈酸酸盐体系的振动光谱研究

报道了肉豆蔻酸和榈酸酸盐体系的振动光谱，结果表明，脂肪酸与其碱金属盐之间通过氢键和羧基配位形成酸盐络合物。酸盐体系中氢键具有不同于普通氢键的性质，本文结合振动光谱讨论了酸盐的结构和氢键性质。     

Attenuated total reflection micro FTIR characterisation of pigment–binder interaction in reconstructed paint films

The interaction of pigments and binding media may result in the production of metal soaps on the surface of paintings which modifies their visible appearance and state of conservation. To characterise more fully the metal soaps found on paintings, several historically accurate oil and egg yolk tempera paint reconstructions made with different pigments and naturally aged for 10 years were submitted to attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR FTIR) microspectroscopic analyses. Standard metal palmitates were synthesised and their ATR spectra recorded in order to help the identification of metal soaps. Among the different lead-based pigments, red lead and litharge seemed to produce a larger amount of carboxylates compared with lead white, Naples yellow and lead tin yellow paints. Oil and egg tempera litharge and red lead paints appeared to be degraded into lead carbonate, a phenomenon which has been observed for the first time. The formation of metal soaps was confirmed on both oil and egg tempera paints based on zinc, manganese and copper and in particular on azurite paints. ATR mapping analyses showed how the areas where copper carboxylates were present coincided with those in which azurite was converted into malachite. Furthermore, the key role played by manganese in the production of metals soaps on burnt and raw sienna and burnt and raw umber paints has been observed for the first time. The formation of copper, lead, manganese, cadmium and zinc metal soaps was also identified on egg tempera paint reconstructions even though, in this case, the overlapping of the spectral region of the amide II band with that of metal carboxylates made their identification difficult.     

有机磷化合物的研究 XXIV: 辛基膦酸单丁酯的合成

研究了由辛基膦酸单丁酯, 着重考察不同结构的辛基及酯丁基对皂化方法的适应性, 所报导的辛基膦酸单丁酯诺异构体均未见文献报导. 在测定化合物物化常数基础上,对它们的光谱作了研究, 对其钠盐的红外光谱特征频率也作了讨论.     

Effect of sample preparation on the thermal degradation of metal-added biomass

The present study investigates the effect of different sample preparation methods on the pyrolysis behaviour of metal-added biomass; Willow samples were compared in the presence of two salts of zinc and lead containing sulphate and nitrate anions which were added to the wood samples with three different techniques as dry-mixing, impregnation and ion-exchange. The effect of acid and water wash as common demineralisation pre-treatments were also analysed to evaluate their roles in the thermal degradation of the biomass. Results from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (Py-MS) measurements indicated that these pre-treatments change the matrix and the physical–chemical properties of wood. Results suggested that these structural changes increase the thermal stability of cellulose during pyrolysis. Sample preparation was also found to be a crucial factor during pyrolysis; different anions of metal salts changed the weight loss rate curves of wood material, which indicates changes in the primary degradation process of the biomass. Results also showed that dry-mixing, impregnation or ion-exchange influence the thermal behaviour of wood in different ways when a chosen metal salt was and added to the wood material.     

Composites of polyaniline and lead dioxide: preparation,characterization, and catalytic activity

This paper is devoted to the preparation of polyaniline/lead dioxide composites (PANI/PbO₂) via chemical oxidation of aniline in H₂SO₄ medium using β-PbO₂ as an oxidant. The parameters affecting the polymerization reaction are considered. These parameters are [aniline], amount of β-PbO₂, stirring time, and different acids. The prepared composites were characterized by SEM, FT-IR, XRD, TGA, DTA, and elemental analysis. From XRD and FT-IR spectra, it was concluded that high molecular weight polymer could be obtained with high aniline concentration, high amount of β-PbO₂, increasing polymerization time and polymerization of ANI at lower temperatures. Thermogravimetric study exhibited that the composite prepared using high amount of β-PbO₂ has a higher thermal stability. The application of the composites in the oxidative degradation of Alizarin yellow G and Acid alizarin violet N dyes exhibited good catalytic activity in presence of H₂O₂ as an oxidant. The reactions followed first-order kinetics and the rate constants were determined.     

Application of Raman microscopy to the characterization of different verdigris variants obtained using recipes from old treatises

Verdigris is an historical pigment of synthetic origin widely used in the artistic scope, from the antiquity to beginning of 19th century. It is a greenish or green-bluish colored product resulting from corrosion of pure copper and alloys caused by the action of different chemical reagents. The preparation recipes are numerous and appear in old texts, such as: treatises of art and texts of alchemy, as well as in books of secrets, natural history and those concerning medicines. A comparative study of these recipes shows significant differences depending on the initial components and the methodology applied in the synthesis of the pigment. Consequently, typical verdigris pigments very likely correspond to a variety of chemical compositions and, in addition, it might contain certain amounts of unknown by-products. To confirm such hypothesis, four different preparation recipes of verdigris have been carefully reproduced in our laboratory, and characterized by Raman microscopy. Our experiments allowed us to establish interesting differences among the studied samples. Some differences are mostly related to the ingredients used in the elaboration of the so-called raw verdigris. In other cases, the observed variations are consequence of the recrystallization treatment of the pigment. In general, all spectra reveal the existence of common component, namely, the copper(II) acetate (hydrated or anhydrous). However, other minority components have been detected in our samples, for instance, copper oxides, copper chlorides, and ammonic salts. In some cases, these compounds allow us to deduce the type of recipe used in the elaboration of the pigment.