CdSxSe1-xquantum dots as colouring agents of Art Nouveau and contemporary stained glass: A combined transmission electron microscopy and Raman study

C. Fornacelli (1) , Philippe Sciau (2) , Ph. Colomban (3)

1 UNISI - Università degli Studi di Siena = University of Siena
2 CEMES-M3 - Matériaux Multi-fonctionnels et Multi-échelles
3 MONARIS - De la Molécule aux Nanos-objets : Réactivité, Interactions et Spectroscopies

The use of cadmium chalchogenide nanoprecipitates to obtain brightly coloured glasses enormously expanded by the beginning of the twentieth century, when the production of cadmium-based pigments was already well established. Six historical stained glass pieces produced between the late 1920s and modern days have been investigated in order to delineate the average size and the elemental composition of the nanocrystals. As non-invasive conditions are now mandatory when considering objects belonging to cultural heritage, Raman spectroscopy is used to measure the (average) elemental composition of the nanoparticles. Zinc substitution is also detected by the shifting of the Raman peak position. Moreover, a tentative evaluation of size distribution and crystallinity of the nanoparticles has been performed considering those parameters that are mainly influenced by the disorder of the system, such as Raman band width, surface phonons and the ratio between second and first order band intensities. A confirmation of the above-mentioned conclusion is searched by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and local elemental analysis. Raman investigations allowed identifying a different and more pronounced disorder characterizing the oldest glasses, also verified by TEM observations, suggesting a different manufacture. This article is part of the themed issue 'Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology'.

Mots clés: Cadmium; Cadmium sulfide; Electron microscopy; Glass; High resolution transmission electron microscopy; Nanocrystals; Nanoparticles; Precipitation (chemical); Raman spectroscopy; Semiconductor quantum dots; Transmission electron microscopy; Cdse; Colouring agents; Cultural heritages; Elemental compositions; Raman; Raman investigations; TEM observations; Twentieth century; Stained glass

Domaines: Physique [physics]

C. Fornacelli, Philippe Sciau, Ph. Colomban. CdSxSe1-xquantum dots as colouring agents of Art Nouveau and contemporary stained glass: A combined transmission electron microscopy and Raman study. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (1934–1990), 2016, 374 (2082), ⟨10.1098/rsta.2016.0045⟩. ⟨hal-01760142⟩