September 16, 2017

The paper entitled “Portable laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy/diffuse reflectance hybrid spectrometer for analysis of inorganic pigments”, by P. Siozos, A. Philippidis, D. Anglos, have been selected for the cover of the Spectrochimica Acta Part B Jurnal (Spectrochimica Acta Part B 137, 93-100 ,2017). 

In this article, a novel, portable spectrometer, combining two analytical techniques, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, was developed with the aim to provide an enhanced instrumental and methodological approach with regard to the analysis of pigments in objects of cultural heritage. Technical details about the hybrid spectrometer and its operation are presented and examples are given relevant to the analysis of paint materials. Both LIBS and diffuse reflectance spectra in the visible and part of the near-infrared, corresponding to several neat mineral pigment samples, were recorded and the complementary information was used to effectively distinguish different types of pigments even if they had similar colour or elemental composition. The spectrometer was also employed in the analysis of different paints on the surface of an ancient pottery sherd demonstrating the capabilities of the proposed hybrid diagnostic approach. Despite its instrumental simplicity and compact size, the spectrometer is capable of supporting analytical campaigns relevant to archaeological, historical or art historical investigations, particularly when quick data acquisition is required in the context of surveys of large numbers of objects and samples.

Further info: doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2017.09.005