UV-Vis spectroscopy

UV-Vis reflectance spectroscopy has been widely used as a non-invasive method for the study of cultural heritagematerials for several decades. In particular, FORS, introduced in the 1980s, allows to acquire hundreds ofreflectance spectra in situ in a short time, contributing to the identification of artist's materials. More recently,microspectrofluorimetry has also been proposed as a powerful non-invasive method for the identification ofdyes and lake pigments that provides high sensitivity and selectivity. In this chapter, the concepts behind thesespectroscopic methodologies will be discussed, as well as the instrumentation and measurement modes used.Case studies related with different cultural heritage materials (paintings and manuscripts, textiles, carpets andtapestries, glass, metals, and minerals), which show the usefulness of UV-Vis reflectance spectroscopy and microspectrofluorimetry applied to the study of artworks, will also be presented.