Selective laser cleaning of chlorine on ancient coins

Domenico Aiello; Alessandro Buccolieri; Giovanni Buccolieri; Alfredo Castellano; Massimo Di Giulio; Laura Sandra Leo; Antonella Lorusso; Gloria Nassisi; Vincenzo Nassisi; Lorenzo Torrisi

doi:10.1117/12.739397

26 April 2007 Selective laser cleaning of chlorine on ancient coins

Domenico Aiello, Alessandro Buccolieri, Giovanni Buccolieri, Alfredo Castellano, Massimo Di Giulio, Laura Sandra Leo, Antonella Lorusso, Gloria Nassisi, Vincenzo Nassisi, Lorenzo Torrisi

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6346, XVI International Symposium on Gas Flow, Chemical Lasers, and High-Power Lasers; 63463H (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.739397
Event: XVI International Symposium on Gas Flow, Chemical Lasers, and High-Power Lasers, 2006, Gmunden, Austria

Abstract

Results about the efficiency of the laser cleaning on the reduction of corrosion products from the surface of ancient coins are reported. In this work an ancient copper coin datable from 1500 to 1600 A.D. and a UV excimer laser were utilized. The goal of this work consists to study the potentiality of UV laser treatment in the reduction of the chlorine concentration on the coin surface which is the main responsible of the corrosion processes of the ancient coins. We used Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques to estimate the chemical composition of the coin surface, before and after UV excimer laser cleaning. In particular, we measured the chlorine, copper and calcium concentrations. We found that a radiation dose of about 19 J/cm² was able to reduce the chlorine concentration from 2.3 % w/w to 0.6 % w/w without damaging the metal bulk.

Citation Download Citation

Domenico Aiello, Alessandro Buccolieri, Giovanni Buccolieri, Alfredo Castellano, Massimo Di Giulio, Laura Sandra Leo, Antonella Lorusso, Gloria Nassisi, Vincenzo Nassisi, and Lorenzo Torrisi "Selective laser cleaning of chlorine on ancient coins", Proc. SPIE 6346, XVI International Symposium on Gas Flow, Chemical Lasers, and High-Power Lasers, 63463H (26 April 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.739397

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