Electrochemical analysis of the alterations in copper pigments using charge transfer coefficient/peak potential diagrams. Application to microsamples of baroque wall paintings attached to polymer film electrodes.

The alteration of copper pigments in art samples was studied by linear scan and cyclic voltammetry using sample-modified Elvacite 2044 film electrodes on the basis of two-dimensional diagrams of charge transfer coefficients calculated from Tafel plots of reductive dissolution processes vs. peak potential. Characteristic voltammetric peaks were obtained for pigments used in the baroque vault frescoes of the Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados painted by Antonio Palomino. Results obtained by voltammetric techniques were compared with those from SEM/EDX and FT-IR analysis obtaining a good agreement and leaving to an unambiguous identification of pigments used by Palomino and their alteration products.