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Characterization of the Chloroform-Based Pretreatment Method for 14C Dating of Restored Wooden Samples

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2016

Lucia Liccioli*
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy Dipartimento di Chimica Ugo Schiff, University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3-13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy
Mariaelena Fedi
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy
Luca Carraresi
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, University of Florence, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy
Pier Andrea Mandò
Affiliation:
INFN Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, University of Florence, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].

Abstract

At INFN-LABEC (Florence, Italy), a new pretreatment for radiocarbon dating based on chloroform has been recently set up. This method aims to remove the synthetic resins used for artwork restoration, which otherwise could alter the original 14C content. The present study characterizes the efficiency of the process when applied to wood. We have verified whether the effectiveness of the pretreatment depends on the number of extractions in chloroform. We prepared samples by applying different volumes of Paraloid B-72®, one of the most widespread products used in restoration, on poplar wood of known age. Contaminated samples were artificially aged in a climatic chamber. A fraction from each sample was collected before any treatment and after respectively 1, 2, 3, and 4 extractions in chloroform, and 14C dating by AMS, the resin appears to be already removed after the first two extractions. Furthermore, the extracted mixtures of chloroform and possible removed Paraloid were measured by FTIR spectroscopy, the results of which confirmed the 14C results. The efficiency of the pretreatment was also verified on historical wooden materials that had been previously restored. In these cases, a higher number of extractions is required, suggesting a careful approach when dealing with “real” artworks.

Type
Chemical Pretreatment Approaches
Copyright
© 2016 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 2015 Radiocarbon Conference, Dakar, Senegal, 16–20 November 2015

References

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