THE USE OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION IN THE CHARACTERIZATION OF CORROSION PRODUCTS AND MATERIALS: POTENTIAL IN MIC AND BIODETERIORATION

ABSTRACT Synchrotron is a source of intense, bright light of variable wavelength. Synchrotron techniques are particularly suited to non destructive analyses or to the micro characterization of different materials including organic and inorganic materials, either amorphous or crystalline. New developments in synchrotron radiation (SR) techniques result in a significant advance to study the samples at micrometer length scale through the combination of different non-destructive techniques. The most employed till now have been synchrotron X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction and, to a lesser extent, small angle scattering and infrared microscopy. The list of artwork studied using SR is made up of a large variety of materials besides metals and alloys of industrial usage. This work describes some practical cases for the use of SR in the study of corrosion products and materials, which although not strictly problems caused by bacteria, they are a reflection of the potential of this tool in the characterization e.g. of iron sulfides biotically generated by the BSR, which are made up of very small crystalline grains and sometimes amorphous.

Keywords: synchrotron radiation, corrosion products, non-destructive analysis, cultural heritage, biodetrioration