Analytical techniques for Heritage conservation

Heritage conservation rests on the knowledge of the artefacts, their material composition and properties, their state of conservation and their interaction with the environment. ICMATE working group has a long experience in the characterization of mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of different materials (natural and artificial stone, pottery, vitreous materials, paintings, manuscripts, textiles, protective coatings, synthetic polymers and many others).

Activities:

• In-situ contactless techniques (microscopy, colorimetry, ER-FTIR), laboratory micro-invasive analysis (microFTIR, ATR, FEG-SEM-EDS) and nuclear spectroscopic techniques (NMR, Mössbauer) to characterize the composition – including past restoration treatments – and the state of conservation of historical artefacts;
• artificial ageing under different conditions (microclimate chamber, solar box) of properly prepared replicas aimed at a more in-depth knowledge of the decay processes, also related to external agents (T, RH, VOC), and eventually at proposing preventive conservation protocols;
• non-, minor- and destructive testing for characterization of mechanical and physical properties (compressive and tensile strength, modulus of elasticity via UPV and IET, apparent density, water absorption, etc.), with a major focus on historical binders and building materials.