XRF spectroscopy

Non-destructive XRF and PIXE analysis of objects of art and archeology

The preservation and conservation of our cultural heritage has become one of the main concerns today all over the world. In particular there is an increasing need for non-destructive investigations, as sampling from the unique and precious objects of art and archaeology. In addition to the conventional analytical procedures, techniques utilizing nuclear instruments and methods play increasing role in this field. The small, portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers using radioisotope excitation allow in situ analysis in museums, galleries, or even on field.

A suspicious Géza Mészöly painting entitled “Washerwomen at the Lake Balaton”: The detection of the presence of titanium in white spots of a painting provided scientific basis to decide that the painting was a fake.

A strongly disputed “Csontváry” painting: Previous studies indicating the presence of Ti could not be confirmed.

The Cambodian bronze “Buddhist Goddess” sculpture: The External-beam PIXE studies revealed “Goddess” had an iron rich core covered by a bronze layer. Sculptures of similar structure came frequently to light in Egypt, but no indication was found till now that this technique was known in the Far-East, too.

The wooden “St. Jerome” relief

Further details:

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Volume 226, Issues 1-2, November 2004, Pages 53-59
Radiation and Archaeometry

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Volume 150, Issues 1-4, 2 April 1999, Pages 605-610

Food contamination

The fast screening of food contamination by PIXE and XRF requires no additional chemical procedure; the sample preparation protocol is very simple.

Pb content of commercial wine products

The permissible level of the Pb content in wine varies in the range of 200–300 μg/l in different countries. These values are below the detection limit for standard PIXE spectrometry. IA protocal was developed to lower the detection limit of PIXE without introducing any additional chemical steps and detection limit of about 50 ppb was finally achieved. Comparing this value to the permissible levels, this simple and fast technique can be used for screening purposes.

Further details:

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Volume 189, Issues 1-4, April 2002, Pages 511-515

Screening the Pb contamination of the red pepper:

A very powerful commercial protocol was developed for screening the Pb contamination the commercial red pepper products.