title: Elemental Analysis of Chinese Black Inks on Xuan Paper by ArF Laser-Excited Plume Fluorescence.
abstract: Chemical analysis of Chinese black ink on xuan paper is useful for the authentication of Asian artwork. The analysis has to be nondestructive and has to accommodate artworks of all sizes. We apply three analytical techniques, ArF laser-induced plume fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to analyze five commercial Chinese black inks on two kinds of xuan paper. The FTIR signal is found to be interfered by the substrate which is inevitable because the pigments diffuse extensively into the xuan fiber network. The XRF signal is shown to be feeble and no signal can be registered until the samples are stacked and when the analytes are present at tens of percent. In contrast, the plume fluorescence technique can detect the minor and trace signature elements. The method is based on a two-laser-pulse scheme performed on a high precision optical setup: the first 355 nm laser pulse ablates a thin layer of the ink to create a plume; the second 193 nm laser pulse induces multi analytes in the plume to fluoresce. Partial-least-squares discriminant analysis of the fluorescence spectra unambiguously sorts the ink-xuan combinations while the sampled area is not visibly damaged even under the microscope. The laser probe can handle samples of arbitrary size and shape, is air compatible, and no sample pretreatment is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.|ANA Artwork Material Analysis Ltd , Mong Kok, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Zhengyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Michelle H C
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Light and Matter, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and the CNRS (UMR5306) , 69622 Villeurbanne CEDEX, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Motto-Ros
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Po-Chun
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Yuanwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Haoyi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Thermo Scientific, Niton Analyzer Asia , Shatin, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Kelvin S Y
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Judy T S
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lum
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau , Macau, China.
authors.forename: Sut-Kam
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Nai-Ho
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Cheung