Premium
Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging in cultural heritage: A focus on old paintings
Author(s) -
Bouvier Caroline,
Van Nuffel Sebastiaan,
Walter Philippe,
Brunelle Alain
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9888
pISSN - 1076-5174
DOI - 10.1002/jms.4803
Subject(s) - chemistry , secondary ion mass spectrometry , painting , mass spectrometry , cultural heritage , high resolution , analytical chemistry (journal) , ion , time of flight , focus (optics) , composition (language) , chromatography , archaeology , visual arts , remote sensing , art , optics , geology , organic chemistry , physics , geography , literature
Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF‐SIMS) imaging is a surface analysis technique that identifies and spatially resolves the chemical composition of a sample with a lateral resolution of less than 1 μm. Depth analyses can also be performed over thicknesses of several microns. In the case of a painting cross section, for example, TOF‐SIMS can identify the organic composition, by detecting molecular ions and fragments of binders, as well as the mineral composition of most of the pigments. Importantly, the technique is almost not destructive and is therefore increasingly used in cultural heritage research such as the analysis of painting samples, especially old paintings. In this review, state of the art of TOF‐SIMS analysis methods will be described with a particular focus on tuning the instruments for the analysis of painting cross sections and with several examples from the literature showing the added value of this technique when studying cultural heritage samples.