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Electron Microscopy Imaging of Zinc Soaps Nucleation in Oil Paint

Part of: Micrographia Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2018

Joen Hermans ,
Gillian Osmond ,
Annelies van Loon ,
Piet Iedema ,
Robyn Chapman ,
John Drennan ,
Kevin Jack ,
Ronald Rasch ,
Garry Morgan  and
Zhi Zhang
...Show all authors
Joen Hermans
Affiliation:
Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Gillian Osmond
Affiliation:
Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art of Modern Art, Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia
Annelies van Loon
Affiliation:
Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Piet Iedema
Affiliation:
Van’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Robyn Chapman
Affiliation:
Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
John Drennan*
Affiliation:
Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Kevin Jack
Affiliation:
Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Ronald Rasch
Affiliation:
Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Garry Morgan
Affiliation:
Department of MCD Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Zhi Zhang
Affiliation:
Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Michael Monteiro
Affiliation:
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Katrien Keune
Affiliation:
Conservation and Restoration Department, Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
*
*Author for correspondence: John Drennan, E-mail: j.drennan@uq.edu.au
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Abstract

Using the recently developed techniques of electron tomography, we have explored the first stages of disfiguring formation of zinc soaps in modern oil paintings. The formation of complexes of zinc ions with fatty acids in paint layers is a major threat to the stability and appearance of many late 19th and early 20th century oil paintings. Moreover, the occurrence of zinc soaps in oil paintings leading to defects is disturbingly common, but the chemical reactions and migration mechanisms leading to large zinc soap aggregates or zones remain poorly understood. State-of-the-art scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy techniques, primarily developed for biological specimens, have enabled us to visualize the earliest stages of crystalline zinc soap growth in a reconstructed zinc white (ZnO) oil paint sample. In situ sectioning techniques and sequential imaging within the SEM allowed three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of sample morphology. Improvements in the detection and discrimination of backscattered electrons enabled us to identify local precipitation processes with small atomic number contrast. The SEM images were correlated to low-dose and high-sensitivity TEM images, with high-resolution tomography providing unprecedented insight into the structure of nucleating zinc soaps at the molecular level. The correlative approach applied here to study phase separation, and crystallization processes specific to a problem in art conservation creates possibilities for visualization of phase formation in a wide range of soft materials.

Keywords

electron microscopyelectron tomographyin situ microtomezinc soaps
Type
Micrographia
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , June 2018 , pp. 318 - 322
Copyright
© Microscopy Society of America 2018 

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Footnotes

Cite this article:Hermans J, Osmond G, van Loon A, Iedema P, Chapman R, Drennan J, Jack K, Rasch R, Morgan G, Zhang Z Monteiro M, Keune K (2018) Electron Microscopy Imaging of Zinc Soaps Nucleation in Oil Paint. Microsc Microanal24(3): 318–322. doi: 10.1017/S1431927618000387

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