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XRPD investigations of “Prussian blue” artists’ pigment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2012

Alicja Rafalska-Łasocha ,
Katarzyna Podulka  and
Wiesław Łasocha
Alicja Rafalska-Łasocha*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
Katarzyna Podulka
Affiliation:
Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
Wiesław Łasocha
Affiliation:
Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland and Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry PAS, Krakow, Poland
*
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The compound NH4Fe[Fe(CN)6]·xH2O—a commercially available “Prussian blue” pigment—crystallizes in the Fm3m space group, a=10.232(1) Å, based on X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) data. XRPD investigations of other commercially available “Prussian blue” pigments and oil paints were undertaken. Results for the pigments showed that the XRPD techniques were able to differentiate several different Prussian blue phases that differed only slightly in chemical compositions. Results for the oil paints allowed for the determination of the major crystalline phases used as fillers. However, on the basis of XRPD investigations of oil paints prepared in our laboratory containing a mixture of true Prussian blue Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3·14H2O and BaSO4 (a common filler), the pigment was detectable only in concentrations higher than 2%. This result suggests that XRPD may not be a preferred technique for the identification of Prussian blue in paintings and other works of art because the concentration of this pigment in such materials is commonly less than 2%.

Keywords

Prussian bluepigmentsXRPDoil paintsindexing of powder pattern
Type
Technical Articles
Information
Powder Diffraction , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , March 2011 , pp. 39 - 47
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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