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pigmented colorants: dependence on media and time - Cornell ...

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133<br />

Figure 4.21: Transmissi<strong>on</strong> electr<strong>on</strong> micrograph of a plastic <str<strong>on</strong>g>pigmented</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

with Titanium Dioxide (large black particles) <strong>and</strong> Carb<strong>on</strong> Black (clouds<br />

of fine black dots). The arrows point to voids that surround the pigment<br />

clusters. Adapted from [JF01].<br />

4.3.4 Other effects<br />

Studies carried out in recent years have shown that several categories of artists’<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>colorants</str<strong>on</strong>g> fade, many of them substantially, when exposed to comm<strong>on</strong> urban at-<br />

mospheric pollutants. In these studies, air in a c<strong>on</strong>tained system was first purified<br />

with a carb<strong>on</strong> filter. Then, parts per billi<strong>on</strong> (ppb) levels of the selected air pol-<br />

lutant were introduced to the purified air. A paint sample was exposed to the<br />

system for a given amount of <strong>time</strong> in the dark to measure the effect of the airborne<br />

chemical <strong>on</strong> the appearance of the paint.<br />

Many chemical pollutants have been studied due to their possible impact <strong>on</strong><br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>colorants</str<strong>on</strong>g> in museum collecti<strong>on</strong>s, since the substances are abundant in ambient<br />

<strong>and</strong> indoor air. The substances that have been studied include oz<strong>on</strong>e [SC83,<br />

WCD87], nitrogen dioxide [WC89], nitric acid [SCG + 92, GSC92], <strong>and</strong> peroxy-<br />

acetyl nitrate [IGG93a]. These substances are all oxidants produced in photo-

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