Effects of Fe ions, ultraviolet irradiation, and heating on microscopic structures of black lacquer films

Nankawa, Takuya ; Sekine, Yurina   ; Matsumura, Daiju   ; Hiroi, Kosuke  ; Takata, Shinichi  ; Kamiya, Yoshimi*; Honda, Takayuki*

The chemical reaction between Fe and lacquer has been used to create the black color lacquer since ancient times. Here, the chemical state of Fe ions in black lacquer was investigated by using X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Fe(II) or Fe(III) was added to the lacquer paste to prepare black lacquer films by air drying, heating, or UV irradiation. The XANES spectral features of all the film samples were similar, meaning that the Fe ions in the samples existed in the trivalent state regardless of the oxidation state of the initially added Fe. The corresponding Fourier transforms of the EXAFS spectra around the Fe K-edge were used to investigate Fe sites in the lacquer films. The spectra of all the film samples were similar shapes, but the peak intensities decreased in the order air dried heated UV irradiated films. This result indicates that heating and UV irradiation made the coordination structure of Fe in the lacquer non-uniform, and that heating caused the greatest non-uniformity. The complementary use of XANES, XAFS, and FT-IR spectroscopy is highly effective for non-destructive analysis of black lacquer in precious cultural artifacts.