title: Elucidation of the Fe(III) Gallate Structure in Historical Iron Gall Ink.
abstract: Synthetic, structural, spectroscopic and aging studies conclusively show that the main colorant of historical iron gall ink (IGI) is an amorphous form of Fe(III) gallate·xH2O (x = ∼1.5-3.2). Comparisons between experimental samples and historical documents, including an 18th century hand-written manuscript by George Washington, by IR and Raman spectroscopy, XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy confirm the relationship between the model and authentic samples. These studies settle controversy in the cultural heritage field, where an alternative structure for Fe(III) gallate has been commonly cited.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ponce
authors.affiliation: Preservation Research and Testing Division, Library of Congress , 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, District of Columbia 20540, United States.
authors.forename: Lynn B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Brostoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zavalij
authors.affiliation: Vitreous State Laboratory (VSL), The Catholic University of America , 400 Hannan Hall, 620 Michigan Avenue NE, Washington, District of Columbia 20064, United States.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Viragh
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey , Monterey, California 93943, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hooper
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey , Monterey, California 93943, United States.
authors.forename: Sufian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alnemrat
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Gaskell
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eichhorn