Thermal properties and stability of Catalan Modernist blue and green enamels

Stained glass is a fragile component of our Cultural Heritage. In particular, the stained glass produced during the last decades of the 19th century and first decades of the 20th century is characterised by the use of a new type ready-to-use enamels. Stained glass was used for the windows of buildin...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Beltran González, Martí|||0000-0002-4186-8768, Brock, Fiona, Pradell Cara, Trinitat|||0000-0002-8720-5492
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/175409
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/175409
https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ijag.13098
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Lead borosilicate glass
Modernist enamels
Chemical stability
Softening temperature
Vitralls
Esmalts
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Física de l'estat sòlid::Cristalls
Descripción
Sumario:Stained glass is a fragile component of our Cultural Heritage. In particular, the stained glass produced during the last decades of the 19th century and first decades of the 20th century is characterised by the use of a new type ready-to-use enamels. Stained glass was used for the windows of buildings, and a large part of it is exposed to weathering and consequently to deterioration. This study analyses the collection of materials used in one of the most important stained glass Modernist workshops in Barcelona. The chemical composition is determined (and pigments identified) by means of Laser Ablation Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and the thermal properties of the enamels measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Hot Stage Microscopy (HSM). The enamels are made of a lead-zinc borosilicate glass characterised by its low sintering temperatures and high stability against chemical corrosion, in particular to water corrosion. However, the relatively narrow range of firing temperatures necessary for correct adherence of the enamels to the contemporary glass base may have required the addition of a high lead borosilicate flux, which would have increased the lead content of the enamel, decreasing the firing temperature but also its stability.