INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGIES FOR APPLIED PETROGRAPHY

The course aims to provide the advanced knowledge of innovative analytical methodologies for the characterization of natural and artificial stone materials and the skills to develop research projects aimed at the study of problems of archaeological interest (archaeometry of materials), industrial (production processes) ) and environmental (solid, water and atmospheric pollution)

lectures and lab exercises

Innovative analytical techniques (destructive, non-destructive, micro-destructive and non-invasive) and their cutting-edge applications to natural and artificial stony materials (rocks, pigments, glass, traditional and industrial ceramics, organic and inorganic protecting materials). Issues concerning archaeological (archaeometry), industrial (production processes, test of new generation protecting and consolidating materials) and environmental (effects of pollution on materials) fields will be considered:

Elemental techniques • Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) • Brief notes on portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) and X-ray Absorbance Spectroscopy (XAS); molecular vibrational techniques • Fourier Transform (micro)Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR, micro-FTIR) and Attenuated Total Reflectance FTIR (FTIR-ATR) • Raman Spectroscopy and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS); neutrons and synchrotron radiation • Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) compared to mercury porosimetry; • Neutron diffraction compared to traditional X-ray diffraction • Synchrotron radiation analysis and X-ray micro-tomography • 2D/3D imaging analytical techniques • Case studies;

Brief notes on traditional conservative treatments, cleaning and consolidation and relative regulations, and comparison with the use of new generation materials; making and testing of eco-friendly new materials with construction and restoration purposes: nanomaterials and geopolymers;

Types and structure of a research project with relative writing practice.

Lecture notes
Papers published in International and National Journals