Date Thesis Awarded
5-2019
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Chemistry
Advisor
Dr. Kristin Wustholz
Committee Members
Dr. Christy Porter
Professor Nicole Santiago
Abstract
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful tool for the identification of organic colorants within art samples. The SERS substrate that is widely used, a colloidal suspension of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), does not always provide reproducible spectral results even when the same procedure is followed within the same laboratory conditions. An investigation to find a metric that can classify each new batch of AgNPs as optimal or suboptimal for application onto a precious art sample are discussed. Next, a quality assurance protocol for SERS-based identification of organic pigments in art is presented. Lastly, pretreatment extraction techniques for sample intervention prior to the application of AgNPs are illustrated.
Recommended Citation
Farling, Carolyn, "Optimizing Silver Nanoparticles for Pigment Identification in Art" (2019). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1328.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1328
