CHAPTER 5: Infrared Spectroscopy-based Techniques

This chapter covers past and present developments in infrared (IR) spectroscopy in the field of cultural heritage (CH), from the methods used to characterize materials to the procedures aimed at diagnosing the state of conservation of CH assets. A large number of modes of IR spectroscopy are now available, (a) to characterize the nature of organic (and inorganic) compounds present in a CH object, (b) to detect non-original compounds that provide clues on possible decay processes and (c) to follow the effects of a given restoration process. This chapter reviews such techniques and also shows the importance of current chemometric tools to extract as much information as possible from the IR spectra to aid in the fulfillment of the three mentioned objectives that can be provided by modern IR spectroscopic techniques.