Victoria Beltran

University of Antwerp | UA · Department of Chemistry

Oil paints comprise pigments, drying oils and additives that together confer desirable properties, but can react to form metal carboxylates (soaps) that may damage artworks over time. To obtain information on soap formation and aggregation, we introduce a new tapping‐mode measurement paradigm for the photothermal induced resonance (PTIR) technique...

Eosin Y has an extraordinary capacity to form complexes with metallic elements, that have applications in many different fields, from photovoltaics and photocatalysis to historical artists’ pigments. To unravel the complexes reactivity, it is essential to have a precise knowledge of their structure and composition, as well as how these can be affec...

Optical-photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy is a recently developed technique that provides spectra comparable to traditional transmission FTIR spectroscopy with nanometric spatial resolution. Hence, O-PTIR is a promising candidate for the analysis of historical paintings, as well as other cultural heritage objects, but its potential has no...

Precise microanalytical techniques are essential in many fields such as Cultural Heritage materials, showing complex layered microstructures containing a wide range of materials of diverse nature and hardness. Non-invasive sample manipulation and preparation is required to avoid, as far as possible, sample contamination which may strongly limit the...

Dye-sensitized TiO2 has found many applications for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), solar-to-chemical energy conversion, water/air purification systems, and (electro)chemical sensors. We report an electrochemical system for testing dye-sensitized materials that can be utilized in photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensors and energy conversion. Unlike r...

Significance For millennia, Aboriginal Australian peoples have used the extraordinary physicochemical properties of plant exudates from practical applications to cultural expression. We employ state-of-the-art spectroscopy to characterize the molecular compositions of well-preserved, native Australian plant exudates ( Xanthorrhoea , Callitris , Euc...

Optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) is a recently developed molecular spectroscopy technique that allows to noninvasively obtain chemical information on organic and inorganic samples at a submicrometric scale. The high spatial resolution (≈450 nm), lack of sample preparation, and comparability of the spectral results to traditional Fourier trans...

Formation and aggregation of metal carboxylates (metal soaps) can degrade the appearance and integrity of oil paints, challenging efforts to conserve painted works of art. Endeavors to understand the root cause of metal soap formation have been hampered by the limited spatial resolution of Fourier transform infrared microscopy (μ-FTIR). We overcome...

Polymeric materials have been used by painting conservator-restorers as consolidants and/or varnishes for wall paintings. The application of these materials is carried out when confronting loose paint layers or as a protective coating. However, these materials deteriorate and cause physiochemical alterations to the treated surface. In the past, the...

Die molekulare Zusammensetzung von organischen Partikeln und Schichten in historischen Gemälden kann mittels der neu entwickelten OPTIR‐Spektroskopie analysiert werden. In ihrem Forschungsartikel (DOI: 10.1002/ange.202106058) zeigen Karolien De Wael et al. die verblüffenden Befunde für Van Goghs Gemälde L′Arlésienne (Porträt der Madame Ginoux). Die...

The nanoscale molecular composition of organic particles and layers in historical paintings can be revealed by recently developed OPTIR spectroscopy. In their Research Article (DOI: 10.1002/anie.202106058), Karolien De Wael et al. show the striking results obtained in Van Gogh's painting L'Arlésienne (portrait of Madame Ginoux) and highlight the po...

Optical-photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy is a recently developed technique that provides spectra comparable to traditional transmission FTIR spectroscopy with nanometric spatial resolution. Hence, O-PTIR is a promising candidate for the analysis of historical paintings, as well as other cultural heritage objects, but its potential has no...

The illicit consumption of heroin is an increasing concern in our society. For this reason, rapid analytical methods to seize heroin samples in the field are of paramount importance to hinder drug trafficking, and thus prevent the availability of heroin in the drug market. The present work reports on the enriched electrochemical fingerprint of hero...

Plastic pollution has become a worldwide concern. It was demonstrated that plastic breaks down to nanoscale particles in the environment, forming so-called nanoplastics. It is important to understand their ecological impact but their structure is not elucidated. In this original work, we characterize the microstructure of oceanic polyethylene debri...

Oil paints comprise pigments, drying oils and additives that together confer desirable properties, but can react to form metal carboxylates (soaps) that may damage artworks over time. To obtain information on soap formation and aggregation, we introduce a new tapping‐mode measurement paradigm for the photothermal induced resonance (PTIR) technique...

Microspectroscopic Investigation of Metal Soaps in Oil Paintings--a Case Study on late 19th Century Cobalt Green ((CoxZn1-xO) Paint - Volume 24 Supplement - Xiao Ma, Selwin Hageraats, Victoria Beltran, Mathieu Thoury, Matthieu Refregiers, Katrien Keune, Barbara H. Berrie

Lustering, a technique which involved the application of coloured translucent glazes over gilding and silvering was widely used to enrich and decorate altarpieces in the Baroque period. The decorations consist of a micrometric multilayered structure including several color glazes, metallic leaves and bole applied over a plaster ground. The collecti...

The formation and distribution of metal soaps produced as a result of the reactivity and aging of the materials in 15th Century egg tempera and oil paintings on wood is presented. The painting technique involves the application of several paint layers over a ground using, sometimes in the same paint layer sequence, drying oil and egg yolk binders....

The resin extracted from the species of the Pinus genus (Pinaceae family) is a widely used material. Primarily, resins are made up of two types of diterpenoids: abietanes and pimaranes. Their composition changes with aging, affecting their chemical and physical properties; however, the chemical changes that occur during aging are not yet fully know...

Resins obtained from Pinus genus species have been widely used in very different fields throughout history. As soon as the resins are secreted, molecular changes start altering their chemical, mechanical and optical properties. The ageing processes are complex, and the chemical and structural changes associated with resin degradation are not yet fu...

Micro Infrared Spectroscopy (µSR-FTIR) and X-Ray diffraction (µSR-XRD) with synchrotron light, Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (CG/MS), Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM/EDS) were used to identify and obtain the distribution of complex mixtures of calcium salts of low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOA) in micro-...