Analytical Methods for the Characterization of Organic Dyes in Artworks and in Historical Textiles

Abstract

Dyes are among the most significant components in works of art and archaeological findings. In the scientific examination of historical artefacts, the identification of natural dyestuffs is a challenging task, due to the complexity of their chemical composition and the possible presence of mixtures of chromophores and degradation products. For this reason, in the last few decades, new analytical procedures and techniques have been developed and improved for the characterization of organic dyes and their identification in microsamples. This review looks at the chemical composition of natural organic dyeing materials used in the field of the cultural heritage and focuses on several analytical methods based on spectrometric and chromatographic techniques that have contributed to the study of organic dyes in works of art and archaeological findings.     

Structural, electronic, thermodynamic and optical properties of SrS1−xOx mixed crystals

The structural, electronic and thermodynamic properties of the SrS_1–xO_x ternary mixed crystals have been studied using the ab initio full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within density functional theory. The effect of composition on lattice parameter, bulk modulus and band gap was investigated. The lattice constants from Vegard's law and the bulk modulus from linear concentration dependence were observed for the alloys. The microscopic origins of the gap bowing were explained by using the approach of Zunger and co-workers. The thermodynamic stability of these alloys was investigated by calculating the excess enthalpy of mixing ΔH_m as well as the phase diagram. In addition to FP-LAPW method, the composition dependence of the refractive index and the dielectric constant was studied by different models.     

Gas Chromatography-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry

Abstract

Difficult mixture analysis problems can usually be simplified when chromatographic separating techniques are employed to isolate individual mixture components. Many different discrimination methods based on observation of physical or chemical properties have been developed to detect substances Separated by gas chromatography. These detectors facilitate quantitative analysis when mixture component identities are known but provide little structural information for identification of unknown mixture components. On the other hand, mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy can provide a wealth of structural information. Mass spectra and infrared spectra are representative of eluent structure in a complementary manner. Mass spectrometry is often used to obtain molecular weight information and can be used to distinguish homologues. Infrared spectra reveal molecular functionalities and are particularly useful for isomer discrimination.     

Miscibility of In x Ga1−x As alloys: a study using atomistic simulations

Atomistic simulations are used in combination with the two potential energy functions, namely, the Valence Force Field (VFF) model and the Tersoff model, to study the solution thermodynamics of In _x Ga_1?x As alloy. The simulation data, in the form of a T ? x diagram, is contrasted with the results obtained by using the Ho and Stringfellow approach. It is observed that for the VFF model, the upper critical solution temperature obtained from simulation data is approximately 850 K, which is higher than the 729 K predicted by the Ho and Stringfellow treatment. The composition range for which the two-phase heterogeneous region exists is wider than that predicted by the Ho and Stringfellow approach. The Tersoff model predicts a complex miscibility diagram, where the 850 K temperature corresponds to the approximate ‘eutectic’ temperature. Further improvement of model predictions may be made possible by investigation of temperature and composition dependent interaction parameter in a modified regular solution theory, and investigation of non-random, non-ideal solution models in the Ho and Stringfellow treatment, development of temperature dependent VFF model parameters and adjustment of Tersoff model parameters to account for longer range interactions which exist at temperatures above 850 K. The miscibility diagram constructed using the Tersoff model simulation data can be used to provide information on the phase stability and equilibrium Indium content at any given temperature for the crystalline solid solution.     

Photooxidation of different organic dyes (RB, MO, TB, and BG) using Fe(III)-doped TiO2 nanophotocatalyst prepared by novel chemical method

The nano-structured Fe(III)-doped TiO₂ photocatalysts with anatase phase have been developed for the oxidation of non-biodegradable different organic dyes like methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RB), thymol blue (TB) and bromocresol green (BG) using UV-Hg-lamp. The different compositions of Fe_xTi_1−xO₂ (x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1) nanocatalysts synthesized by chemical method (CM), have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, specific surface area (BET), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) analysis, XPS, ESR and zeta potential. From XRD analysis, the results indicate that all the compositions of Fe(III) doped in TiO₂ catalysts gives only anatase phase not rutile phase. For complete degradation of all the solutions of the dyes (MO, RB, TB, and BG), the composition with x = 0.005 is more photoactive compared all other compositions of Fe_xTi_1−xO₂, and degussa P25. The decolorization rate of different dyes decreases as Fe(III) concentration in TiO₂ increases. The energy band gap of Fe(III)-doped TiO₂ is found to be 2.38 eV. The oxidation state of iron has been found to be 3+ from XPS and ESR show that Fe³⁺ is in low spin state.     

Pressure effect on the magnetic phase diagram of Hf1-xTaxFe2 alloys

Abstract

The lattice constants of Hf_1-xTa_xFe₂ with C14 structure were measured at room temperature under pressure up to 5 GPa. The magnetic phase diagram obtained as a function of pressure was compared with that obtained as a function of Ta concentration x. It is shown that changes in lattice constants by applying pressure and /or by substituting Ta for Hf affect remarkably the magnetic phase stability, which is consistent qualitatively with a recent theoretical prediction based on the local spin density approximation.     

Stability diagram of rice starch as determined with FTIR

Abstract

In this study, we followed in situ changes in the infrared spectrum at different conditions of pressure and temperature. Cooperative changes were observed when temperature or pressure was increased. Plotting the midpoints of cooperative transitions in a pressure-temperature plane results in an outline similar to the stability curve of proteins. We can assume that it is the first time that the pressure-temperature dependent gelation diagram is determined in situ for starch.     

Ion implantation effects in glasses

Abstract

Ion implantation can be used to introduce network damage and to alter the chemical composition in glasses. Structural changes can be inferred from IR measurements near 1000 cm^?1 and by optical absorption near 2150 Å. Implantation-induced damage decreases the implanted volume in fused silica with consequent changes in the refractive index, the near-surface hardness, and the tensile surface stress. Prior work in these areas is reviewed. Implantation into alkali silicate glasses depletes the alkali content in the implanted region. These changes allow preferential surface crystallization in Li₂O-2SiO₂ glasses. Crystallization of amorphous SiO2 can be induced by implantation of Li. Insight into the crystallization process is obtained by following the associated ion movement by elastic recoil detection (ERD) and optical techniques. Implantation of 20keV H shows that saturation of implanted H-sites in fused silica occurs at about 2.2 × 10²¹ H/cm³ in agreement with free volume estimates of the maximum number of available interstitial sites. Details of H and D interactions in fused silica were studied as a function of fluence and temperature. Results are of interest in studies of corrosion in glasses considered for nuclear waste encapsulation and for components in fusion reactors.

IV Summary     

Structural and phase transition of α-Al2O3 powders obtained by co-precipitation method

Aluminium oxide has been synthesized by co-precipitation technique at different annealing temperature. Powder XRD confirms the formation of α-Al₂O₃ with rhombohedral crystal structure having lattice constant a = 4.76 Å and b = 12.99 Å by the Scherer formula, the average crystallite size is estimated to be 66 nm. The scanning electron microscope results expose the fact that the α-Al₂O₃ nanomaterials are seemingly porous in nature and highly agglomerated. Chemical composition of aluminium oxide is confirmed by energy dispersive spectroscopy. The molecular functional group is confirmed by FTIR. Optical absorption of α-Al₂O₃ has been studied in the UV–vis region and its direct band gap is estimated to be 5.97 eV. This study involves the structural and phase transition of Al₂O₃ and also indicates that α-Al₂O₃ has considerable properties, deserving further investigation for the energetic materials with excellent properties for the possibility of using thin-layer α-Al₂O₃ as a thermo luminescence material.     

Implantation as a tool for performing selective materials (application to solar energy conversion)

A selective solar material must absorb most of the solar spectrum, principally the visible light, and reflect the IR light.

Insulators are generally transparent in a wide part of the optical spectrum and the defects are revealed in these crystals by strong absorption bands. On the other hand, metals absorb much of the IR and near IR light and have a large reflection coefficient in the same region of the spectrum. In previous papers^1,2 it has been shown that metallic colloids, formed by precipitation of impurities in insulators, are responsible for a strong absorption band. Such metallic inclusions may be easily produced in most insulators by implantation. According to the nature of the implanted metal a selective absorption can be obtained. So a composite material (cermet) may be performed combining a colloidal absorption in the visible and a metallic reflection. We will discuss the different ways to achieve these properties using direct ion beam implantation.

Various cermets (LiF: Na, Au; MgO: Na, Au) have been studied as function of energy (0.1-1 MeV) and dose (10¹⁶-10¹⁷ ions/cm²). Colloids are completely developed by consecutive annealing.⁴

The modelization of these cermets requires a careful characterization by optical methods (spectrophotometry) and microscopic investigation (TEM, SEM, RBS, SIMS).⁷ These techniques are used to determine the filling factor and the concentration profile of metal in the insulating matrix.

With the help of the Maxwell-Garnett theory and using a single or multilayer model it is possible to suggest an interpretation of the optical properties.     

Phase separation of polymer blends in solution near adsorbing surface

In this paper, we consider a mixture of two polymers A and B of different chemical nature, dissolved in a common good solvent, in contact with an interacting surface. We start from a mixture of two incompatible homopolymers A and B in the molten state, and assume that the surface adsorbs strongly one or both polymer species at high temperature. It is assumed that this is a strong adsorption, so that chains cannot desorb once they are linked to the surface. This constrains the system to a quenched composition on the surface. Once the adsorption process is finished, a quantity of a good solvent is added to get a semi-dilute solution. We assume that demixing transition in the presence of solvent occurs at lower temperature. The purpose is to discuss the influence of the quenched surface fluctuations on the critical properties of the mixture. Within the framework of the so-called blob model, we determine the exact shape of the composition profile as a function of the distance z to the surface, for any value of the relevant parameters, namely, the temperature T, the molecular weight M, the monomer concentration c and the surface composition x₀. Our analysis reveals a universal character of the composition profile for , where the characteristic size D is some known length depending on the relevant parameters of the problem, and not on temperature, and is the thermal correlation length. Near surface, for (a is the monomer size), the profile is no longer universal, and in particular, it is sensitive to the boundary condition. Far from the surface, that is , the profile tends exponentially to its bulk value. We show that the length Dapproaches its lowest value as the surface composition reaches its saturated value l. In this limit, we find that the profile shape is a characteristic of critical adsorption in simple binary fluid mixtures. Finally, this work must be regarded as a natural extension of a previous one, which was concerned with the same problem, but in the absence of solvent. Received 24 June 1999 and Received in final form 5 November 1999     

Adiabatic evaporation of binary liquid mixtures on the porous ball surface

Measured data for the temperature of a porous spherical surface to which an evaporating binary liquid mixture was supplied are reported. In the experiments, solutions of ethyl and methyl alcohols in water, and also solutions of acetone in water, were used. The concentration of mixture components was varied throughout the widest possible range of X _L = 0–1, and the temperature of dry air flow past the sphere was in the range t ₀ = 15–300 °C. In the present study, a strong influence of the composition of the mixtures on their adiabatic evaporation temperature was established. In the heat- and mass-transfer process, the air temperature is also of paramount importance. An experimental correlation is obtained which generalizes data on adiabatic evaporation temperature in a broad range of component concentrations and temperatures for the experimentally examined binary liquid mixtures. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 06-08-39002—GFEN).     

Freezing and melting of binary mixtures confined in a nanopore

This paper reports on a Grand Canonical Monte Carlo study of the freezing and melting of Lennard–Jones Ar/Kr mixtures confined in a slit pore composed of two strongly attractive structureless walls. For all molar compositions and temperatures, the pore, which has a width of 1.44?nm, accommodates two contact layers and one inner layer. Different wall/fluid interactions are considered, corresponding to pore walls that have a larger affinity for either Ar or Kr. The solid/liquid phase diagram of the confined mixture is determined and results compared with data for the bulk mixture. The structure of the confined mixture is studied using 2D order parameters and both positional g(r) and bond orientational G₆(r) pair correlation functions. It is found that in the confined solid phase, both the contact and inner layers have a hexagonal crystal structure. It is shown that the freezing temperature of the Ar/Kr confined mixture is higher than the bulk freezing point for all molar compositions. Also, it is found that the freezing temperature becomes larger as the ratio α of the wall/fluid to the fluid/fluid interactions increases, in agreement with previous simulation studies on pure substances confined in nanopores. In the case of pore walls having a stronger affinity for Kr atoms (ε _Ar/W<ε _Kr/W), it is observed that both the contact and inner layers of the confined mixture undergo, at the same temperature, a transition from the liquid phase to the crystal phase. The freezing of Ar/Kr mixtures confined between the walls having a stronger affinity for Ar (ε _Ar/W?>?ε _Kr/W) is more complex: for Kr molar concentration lower than 0.35, we observe the presence of an intermediate state between all layers being 2D hexagonal crystals and all the layers being liquid. This intermediate state consists of a crystalline contact layer and a liquid-like inner layer. It is also shown that the qualitative variations of the increase of freezing temperature with the molar composition depend on the affinity of the pore wall for the different components. These results confirm that, in addition to the parameter α the ratio of the wall/fluid interactions for the two species, η=?_Ar/W/?_Kr/W, is a key variable in determining the freezing and melting behaviour of the confined mixture.     

Strain-tunable electronic,elastic, and optical properties of CaI2 monolayer: first-principles study

ABSTRACT

The effects of biaxial strain on the electronic structure and the elastic and optical properties of monolayer CaI₂ were studied using first-principles calculations. The two-dimensional (2D) equation of state for monolayer CaI₂ as fit in a relative area of 80–120% is more accurate. The band gap can be tuned under strain and reached a maximum at a tensile strain of 4%. Under compressive strains, the absorption spectrum showed a significant red shift at higher strains. The static reflectance and static refractive index decreased in the strain range of ?10% to 10%.     

第一原理研究Sn(O1-xNx)2材料的光电磁性质

基于第一原理的密度泛函理论, 以量子化学从头计算软件 为平台研究了Sn(O_1-xN_x)₂材料的光电磁性能, 分析了体系的态密度、 能带结构、 磁性、 介电虚部及折射率. 计算结果表明, N替代O后, 随着掺杂浓度的增加, 体系的带隙先减小后增大, 掺杂量为12.50%时带隙最窄. 由于N 2p轨道电子的贡献, 在0.55-1.05 eV范围内产生了浅受主能级, 价带和导带处的能级均出现了劈裂及轨道的重叠现象, Sn-O键的键强大于N-O键的键强. 从磁性来看, N原子决定了磁矩的大小. 从介电虚部可知, 掺杂后体系的光学吸收边增宽, 主跃迁峰发生红移, 反射率和介电谱相对应, 各峰值与电子的跃迁吸收有关.     

Development of structural and optical properties of WOx films upon increasing oxygen partial pressure during reactive sputtering

WO_x films were prepared by reactive dc magnetron sputtering using tungsten target. Sputtering was carried out at a total pressure of 1.2 Pa using a mixture of argon plus oxygen in an effort to determine the influence of the oxygen partial pressure on structural and optical properties of the films. The deposition rate decreases significantly as the surface of the target is oxidized. X-Ray diffraction revealed the amorphous nature of all the films prepared at oxygen partial pressures higher than 1.71×10⁻³ Pa. For higher oxygen partial pressures, fully transparent films were deposited, which showed a slight increase in optical band gap with increasing oxygen partial pressure, while the refractive index was simultaneously decreased.     

Characterization of the Composition of Solid Mixtures Using Particle Shape Distributions Obtained by Image Analysis

There are many applications of particle technology in which solid mixtures consisting of particles having the same chemical, mineralogical and physical properties are used. The particles are then distinguishable only by shape. The particle shape significantly influences the technological behaviour of the mixture and the properties of the materials produced. Therefore, mathematical procedures are necessary in order to determine the composition of such a mixture according to the proportions of certain particle shape classes. These classes are the respective components of the mixture. In this work, various statistical methods were tested to classify the particles by shape analysis. A two-component mixture of quartz and muscovite was used as a reference material. The results obtained by different theoretical methods were compared with each other. Alternative methods such as histogram fit and the EM algorithm provided better results than the conventional method of discriminant analysis, as expected. Because the statistical behaviour of the components can be estimated only using reference samples, a statistical error of about 5–10% depending on the respective sample size was met. However, this is a satisfactory result. It turned out that it is possible to conclude exclusively on the basis of the particle shape distribution about the composition of a mixture. The methodical knowledge obtained can be used in industrial applications such as the ceramic industry, the production of paints and the bulk solids technology.     

General constraints on the ionic eos

Abstract

From statistical mechanics one obtains exactly, relative to zeros of energy and entropy at zero temperature, several terms in the high-temperature expansion for the ionic contribution to the equation of state. By standard thermodynamics we relate the temperature independent terms of the high-temperature expansion for the entropy and internal energy to the -1 and 0 moments, respectively, of the specific heat. If we assume that we understand the solid region, this exact high-temperature information then paradoxically constrains the area and general shape of the specific heat curve in the difficult region above melting but below ideal gas. We outline this reasoning and a model that realizes the constraints.     

Determination of the parameters of condensed media by the dual-wavelength differential absorption method

A method of dual-wavelength differential absorption with the use of diode lasers is proposed. The method makes it possible to detect changes in parameters of media that cause broad absorption lines of selected molecular components of these media either to shift or to deform. The potentialities of the method proposed are demonstrated in experiments on remote contactless measurement of the temperature of aqueous solutions and measurement of the deviations of the composition of a mixture of dyes from the equilibrium state. These investigations show ways of increasing the sensitivity of the method proposed in solving particular experimental tasks.     

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons extracted from air particulate matter using a temperature programmable injector coupled to GC–C–IRMS†

Compound specific isotopic analysis (CSIA) can provide information about the origin of analysed compounds – in this case, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In the study, PAHs were extracted from three dust samples: winter and summer filter dust and tunnel dust. The measurement was performed using the method validated in our laboratory using pure, solid compounds and EPA 610 reference assortment.

CSIA required an appropriate clean-up method to avoid an unresolved complex in the gas chromatographic analysis usually found in the chromatography of PAHs. Extensive sample clean-up for this particular matrix was found to be necessary to obtain good gas chromatography–combustion–isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis results. The sample purification method included two steps in which the sample is cleaned up and the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons are separated.

The concentration of PAHs in the measured samples was low; so a large volume injection technique (100 μl) was applied. The δ_VPDB ¹³C was measured with a final uncertainty smaller than 1 ‰. Comparison of the δ_VPDB ¹³C signatures of PAHs extracted from different dust samples was feasible with this method and, doing so, significant differences were observed.