DSC application in the conservation field

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been scarcely used in conservat ion field and in particular, in the study of painting layers. However DSC i s a micro-destructive technique (sample from .05 to 1 mg can be analysed) b ecause no pre-treatment of the sample is required and so it can give rapid and useful information. The aim of the present work is, in fact, to describ e useful applications of DSC on the study of materials used in art. The ana lyses have been conducted under oxygen flow in order to register the thermo -oxidative reactions of the organic binder or protective. In the first part of the paper, materials of different chemical composition have been analys ed to build up a data base of DSC profiles. Standard painting layers artifi cially degraded by treatment with ultraviolet light (365 nm) for 21 days an d with NOx (5 ppm) have been analysed. Comparing the behaviour of the treat ed to the reference sample, it is useful to study what kind of changes the treatments have produced on the sample. Another possible application of DSC is the study of the formation of the film; analysing the raw, liquid binde rs and the different naturally aged films an evolution of the chemical stru cture can be registered. As a conclusion, DSC analyses on standard used in artistic field allow to i nvestigate their thermal behaviour and to understand the effect of natural and artificial ageing.