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Luster Pottery from the Thirteenth Century to the Sixteenth Century: A Nanostructured Thin Metallic Film
Author(s) -
PérezArantegui Josefina,
Molera Judit,
Larrea Angel,
Pradell Trinitat,
VendrellSaz Marius,
Borgia Ilaria,
Brunetti Brunetto G.,
Cariati Franco,
Fermo Paola,
Mellini Marcello,
Sgamellotti Antonio,
Viti Cecilia
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.2001.tb00674.x
Subject(s) - materials science , metal , copper , pottery , nanocrystal , composite material , thin film , layer (electronics) , matrix (chemical analysis) , mineralogy , metallurgy , nanotechnology , chemistry , archaeology , history
Luster is a decorative metallic film that was applied on the surface of medieval glazed pottery. It can be obtained via the low‐temperature (∼650°C), controlled reduction of copper and silver compounds. In this paper, we show that luster is a thin layered film (200–500 nm thick) that contains metallic spherical nanocrystals dispersed in a silicon‐rich matrix and has a metal‐free outermost glassy layer that is 10–20 nm thick. Silver nanocrystals seem to be separated from those of copper, forming aggregates 5–100 μm in diameter. This composite structure exhibits optical properties that are dependent on both the particle size and the matrix. Luster is indeed the first reproducible nanostructured thin metallic film that was made by humans.