Amber is a fossilized form of terpenoid resin found in many parts of the world that has undergone geological maturation over millions of years. It is translucent, of a color that can range from yellow, to red, to brown up to green. Even in its raw form this material has an attractive appearance and it was used by people of many different cultures for decorative objects over several millennia. The knowledge of the chemical structure of amber may allows one to associate a given object with its geographical origin and to draw maps of cultural and trade networks, besides, information on authenticity of artifacts may be obtained. Chemical characteristics of amber depend on both biological origin and geological environment. The non crystalline nature of amber and its poor solubility prevent the use of many analytical techniques. 13C Solid state NMR spectroscopy has allowed us to obtain information on the chemical structure of amber in a non destructive way and without any manipulation of the sample [1-3]. Sicily is a source of highly valued amber whose mineralogical name (Simetite) derives from Simeto River. Sicilian amber is considered by gemological studies as the most valuable in the world for the physical-chemical properties and for its rarity. The limitation of the study of Simetite is due both to the lack of information in literature and the lack of authentic Simetite samples in mineralogical collections. In the study reported here, a collection of numerous Simetite samples was analyzed by NMR and Raman spectroscopy with the aim to trace Simetite with respect to ambers from other regions (Baltic and Dominican Republic) and to create a database of Simetite useful for future studies. [1] J. B. Lambert, C. W. Beck, J.S. Frye, Archaeometry 30, 1988, 248-263. [2] J. B. Lambert, S. C. Johnson, G. O. Poinar, Archaeometry 38, 1996, 325-335. [3] J. B. Lambert, J. A. Santiago-Blay, Y. Wu, A. J. Levy, Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, 53, 2015, 2-8.
Analysis of Sicilian Amber by 13C Solid state NMR and Raman Spectroscopy
RANERI, SIMONA;
2015-01-01
Abstract
Amber is a fossilized form of terpenoid resin found in many parts of the world that has undergone geological maturation over millions of years. It is translucent, of a color that can range from yellow, to red, to brown up to green. Even in its raw form this material has an attractive appearance and it was used by people of many different cultures for decorative objects over several millennia. The knowledge of the chemical structure of amber may allows one to associate a given object with its geographical origin and to draw maps of cultural and trade networks, besides, information on authenticity of artifacts may be obtained. Chemical characteristics of amber depend on both biological origin and geological environment. The non crystalline nature of amber and its poor solubility prevent the use of many analytical techniques. 13C Solid state NMR spectroscopy has allowed us to obtain information on the chemical structure of amber in a non destructive way and without any manipulation of the sample [1-3]. Sicily is a source of highly valued amber whose mineralogical name (Simetite) derives from Simeto River. Sicilian amber is considered by gemological studies as the most valuable in the world for the physical-chemical properties and for its rarity. The limitation of the study of Simetite is due both to the lack of information in literature and the lack of authentic Simetite samples in mineralogical collections. In the study reported here, a collection of numerous Simetite samples was analyzed by NMR and Raman spectroscopy with the aim to trace Simetite with respect to ambers from other regions (Baltic and Dominican Republic) and to create a database of Simetite useful for future studies. [1] J. B. Lambert, C. W. Beck, J.S. Frye, Archaeometry 30, 1988, 248-263. [2] J. B. Lambert, S. C. Johnson, G. O. Poinar, Archaeometry 38, 1996, 325-335. [3] J. B. Lambert, J. A. Santiago-Blay, Y. Wu, A. J. Levy, Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, 53, 2015, 2-8.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
