International Tables for Crystallography

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Powder diffraction in art and archaeology
G. Artioli. International Tables for Crystallography (2019). Vol. H, ch. 7.4, pp. 759-766  [ doi:10.1107/97809553602060000978 ]

Abstract

Powder diffraction is a fundamental tool for the characterization of materials, including those relevant to cultural heritage. This review briefly introduces the concepts and aims of powder-diffraction techniques applied to cultural-heritage materials, including the issues of diagnostics and conservation of art works (conservation science), and analysis and interpretation of archaeological artifacts related to human past (archaeological science or archaeometry). Within this conceptual frame, all pieces of information provided by powder diffraction are relevant to cultural-heritage materials. They are related to (1) phase identification and quantification, (2) structure analysis, (3) texture analysis, and (4) microstructural features derived from diffraction peak broadening. Further insights can be derived from combined studies involving simultaneous diffraction, imaging and/or spectroscopy experiments. For example, combined micro-mapping of the elemental and phase composition proves to be very important in understanding the original recipes and assessing the degradation state of paint layers and illuminated manuscripts. The combination of absorption imaging and diffraction-based tomography is a powerful tool for the non-invasive investigation of unique and precious objects: knowledge of the internal structure of the object and the three-dimensional distribution of the phases is useful for understanding the nature of the material, for assessing the degradation state, for idenifying possible sampling locations, and ultimately for defining conservation strategies.


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About International Tables for Crystallography

International Tables for Crystallography is the definitive resource and reference work for crystallography. The multi-volume series comprises articles and tables of data relevant to crystallographic research and to applications of crystallographic methods in all sciences concerned with the structure and properties of materials.