Noninvasive depth profiling of walls by portable nuclear magnetic resonance.
A compact and mobile single-sided (1)H NMR sensor, the NMR-MOUSE, has been employed in the nondestructive characterization of the layer structure of historic walls and wall paintings. Following laboratory tests on a model hidden fresco, paint and mortar layers were studied at Villa Palagione and the Seminario Vescovile di Sant' Andrea in Volterra, Italy. Different paint and mortar layers were identified, and further characterized by portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy where accessible. In the detached and restored fresco "La Madonna della Carcere" from the Fortezza Medicea in Volterra, paint and mortar layers were discriminated and differences in the moisture content of the adhesive that fixes the detached wall painting to its support were found in both restored and original sections. These investigations encourage the use of the portable and single-sided NMR technology for nondestructive studies of the layer structure and conservation state of historic walls.
Blümich
Bernhard
B
Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Worringer Weg 1, 52056 Aachen, Germany. bluemich@mc.rwth-aachen.de
Haber
Agnes
A
Casanova
Federico
F
Del Federico
Eleonora
E
Boardman
Victoria
V
Wahl
Gerhard
G
Stilliano
Antonella
A
Isolani
Licio
L