A combined Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)/UV–vis approach for the investigation of dye content in commercial felt tip pens inks

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThe development of protocols for the protection of the large patrimony of works of art created by felt tip pen media since the 1950's requires detailed knowledge of the main dyes constituting commercial ink mixtures. In this work Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and UV-vis spectroscopy were used for the first time for the systematic identification of dye composition in commercial felt tip pens. A large selection of pens comprising six colors of five different brands was analyzed. Intense SERS spectra were obtained for all colors, allowing identification of main dye constituents. Poinceau 4R and Eosin dyes were found to be the main constituents of red and pink colors; Rhodamine and Tartrazine were found in orange and yellow colors; Erioglaucine was found in green and blue colors. UV-vis analysis of the same inks was used to support SERS findings but also to unequivocally assign some uncertain dye identifications, especially for yellow and orange colors. The spectral data of all felt tip pens collected through this work were assembled in a database format. The data obtained through this systematic investigation constitute the basis for the assembly of larger reference databases that ultimately will support the development of conservation protocols for the long term preservation of modern art collections.

Handheld surface‐enhanced Raman scattering identification of dye chemical composition in felt‐tip pen drawings

“…The summary of all analyzed felt‐tip pens and the dye composition attribution is presented in Table . Interestingly, some of the pens analyzed in this work were also previously analyzed by a combined bench‐size SERS/UV vis spectroscopic approach . The direct comparison between spectra recorded at 514‐nm illumination with benchtop instrumentation and spectra recorded in this work at 785‐nm illumination with handheld instrumentation showed that sharper peaks with better signal‐to‐noise ratios were obtained with benchtop instrumentation.…”

“…SERS was also used by our group and others for the identification of dye content in ballpoint pens . Recently, SERS was also used in combination with other analytical techniques for the identification of dyes in commercial felt‐tip pens and used to identify colorants in colored inks used by artists such as Lucio Fontana and Federico Fellini . As an increasing number of modern artworks are already entering a state of high degradation, the inherent noninvasiveness, high sensitivity, and efficient quenching of interfering fluorescence signals could make SERS the analytical technique of choice to support the development of long‐term conservation methods for modern artworks.…”

Identification of dye content in colored BIC ballpoint pen inks by Raman spectroscopy and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering

“…Recently, our group has successfully applied Raman and SERS, in combination with bench and handheld instrumentation, for the identification of the major dye constituents of felt tip pens . The application of SERS allowed circumventing fluorescence interference and provided high intensity spectral profiles of fluorescent dyes under visible wavelength illumination …”

“…[27,28] The application of SERS allowed circumventing fluorescence interference and provided high intensity spectral profiles of fluorescent dyes under visible wavelength illumination. [29] In this paper, we report on the application of Raman and SERS spectroscopies to the identification of dye mixtures in colored BIC ballpoint pens. Ten BIC ballpoint pens with different hues of green, purple, pink, and red were analyzed.…”

Rapid Tartrazine Determination in Large Yellow Croaker with Ag Nanowires Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

“…A growing number of research publications on the detection of illegal additives [12], pesticide residues [13,14,15,16] and veterinary drugs in foodstuff are available [17,18]. There are some reports on the use of SERS for the detection of tartrazine [19,20,21] but the number of publications on the determination of tartrazine in foodstuff on the basis of the SERS method is relatively low. In 2016, SERS coupled with Au nanodumbbells was used to analyze tartrazine in drinks [22].…”