Detection of degradation markers from polymer surfaces by a novel SERS-based strategy

Manuel Gómez; Daniela Reggio; Massimo Lazzari

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2018.08.046

Detection of degradation markers from polymer surfaces by a novel SERS-based strategy

Talanta. 2019 Jan 1:191:156-161. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2018.08.046. Epub 2018 Aug 18.

Authors

Manuel Gómez¹, Daniela Reggio¹, Massimo Lazzari²

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Química Física, Facultade de Química, and Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
² Departamento de Química Física, Facultade de Química, and Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CIQUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Electronic address: massimo.lazzari@usc.es.

PMID: 30262045
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2018.08.046

Abstract

This paper provides new insights for the study of polymer degradation through the detection of markers released at the polymer surface using Al-coated SERS active substrates. Combining a nanodestructive sampling procedure with the SERS sensitivity allows achieving detection limits much lower than traditional polymer characterization techniques, opening the way to the use of SERS as part of an innovative strategy to diagnose surface degradation in polymeric museum artefacts. The method was applied to artificially photo-aged model polymers and to museum artworks.

Keywords: Degradation markers; Heritage science; Plastic artworks; Polymer conservation; Polymer oxidation; Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.