Non-invasive imaging techniques: MA-XRF and RIS
The color scheme of the paintings studied is rather simple and incorporates mostly shades of white, blue, green, red, yellow, and brown. The MA-XRF distribution maps, RIS endmember maps and associated reflectance curves for CAM-1329 are presented in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, respectively.
The XRF maps of Pb (Fig. 2-Pb) suggest a lead-based ground, likely to be lead white (lead carbonate and/or basic lead carbonate), due to Pb being found throughout the compositions. Further indications of the presence of Pb in the lower layers are given by the shielding effect of overlying heavy elements, such as Co, Zn, Cr, and Cu, which serve to block the Pb signal found underneath, as well as small areas of loss where Ca, Fe, Ti, Ba, Ti, and K – most likely used during previous conservation treatments – are found. The large ochre-based conservation intervention in the area of loss in the plate is further confirmed using RIS (Fig. 3-EM1).
The presence of Hg in the redder areas such as the brown of the table or the edges of the plate (Fig. 2-Hg) suggests the use of vermilion (mercury sulfide), the sole pigment containing mercury. The use of vermilion is further suggested by RIS, with the characteristic inflection point at 585 nm (Fig. 3-EM6). However, the complex curve observed with absorbances at 455, 560, and 640 nm may also suggest the use of an oxide/oxy - hydroxide-based ochre mixed with the vermilion.
XRF maps also imply the presence of a Cr-based green in most green areas of the composition, including the guanábanas (Fig. 2-Cr). The Cr-based pigment is likely to be viridian (hydrated chromium oxide), chrome(III)oxide green and/or a mixture of chrome yellow and blue pigments. The spectral features, and specifically the shoulder at 705 nm observed in RIS (Fig. 3-EM3-5), tend to indicate the use of viridian or chrome(III)oxide green, rather than a mixture of chrome yellow and blue pigments. However, neither MA-XRF nor RIS allows for their differentiation, hence Raman spectroscopy was applied (section “Micro-invasive investigation: optical microscopy, SEM-EDX, and Raman spectroscopy”).
The Cr-based green does not appear to be the sole green pigment used in the painting. The co-occurrence of As and Cu also suggests that Oller used Emerald green (copper acetoarsenite) and/or Scheele’s green (copper arsenite, Fig. 2-As/Cu) in the green highlights of the fruits. The presence of the emerald and/or Scheele’s green was also confirmed by RIS through the inflection point and maximum absorbance at 505 and 670 nm, respectively (Fig. 3-EM7).
Despite not being identified by MA-XRF due to its constituting elements being too light to be picked up by the technique, RIS highlighted the use of ultramarine blue (sulfur-containing sodium aluminum silicate) in the blue highlights (Fig. 3-EM2). Co, an element often associated with cobalt blue (cobalt(II) oxide-aluminum oxide), was identified by MA-XRF in the green areas of the guanábanas (Fig. 2-Co). The Co was observed in association with Zn (Fig. 2-Zn), which may suggest a combined used of cobalt blue and zinc white (zinc oxide). However, this association would prove peculiar due to the rather dark color of the depicted fruit, for which zinc white would not be expected. Furthermore, the co-presence of Co and Zn may also be associated with a cobalt green, a cobalt oxide-doped zinc oxide pigment. Even though it was not possible to confirm the presence of the pigment using minimally invasive techniques due to the lack of sample in the area, cobalt green was identified with Raman spectroscopy in the light blue sky of Trapiche Meladero (see section “Micro-invasive investigation: optical microscopy, SEM-EDX, and Raman spectroscopy”), another of Oller’s painting for which Co and Zn were identified using MA-XRF (Fig. S1). This finding may support the possible use of the pigment in this second painting by the same artist.
The presence of Zn and Cr in the guanábanas could also be associated with the use of yellow zinc chromate. However, both elements do not seem to overlap contrary to Co and Zn as suggested by the RGB composite images presented in Fig. 4, and therefore, supporting further the use of cobalt green and/or a mixture of cobalt blue and zinc white.
Except for the warm background, yellow tones are only sparsely used throughout the composition. Yellow is mostly observed in the yellow knife handle and in the light-yellow filling of the bowl. However, neither these elements nor the background yields any elemental response that could be linked to yellow pigments, such as Cr (for chrome or lemon yellows), often identified in paintings from impressionist and post-impressionist periods. RIS, while not able to identify the pigment used, did however set apart both areas (Fig. 3-EM8 and Fig. 3-EM9 for the knife handle and background, respectively), with features at 565 and 650 nm possibly associated with an ochre pigment, not identified through the presence of Fe in MA-XRF. The lack of elemental response in the yellow areas may suggest the use of organic lakes and/or synthetic organic pigments, further suggested by the absorbance band at 440 nm observed in RIS (Fig. 3-EM8 and Fig. 3-EM9). Nonetheless, non-invasive imaging techniques do not enable most yellow colorants to be identified and further analyses more suited for the identification of organic pigments such as Raman spectroscopy or LCMS are necessary (section “Micro-invasive chromatographic analysis: HPLC-DAD-MS/MS”).
Only MA-XRF and RIS data associated with CAM-1329 are presented here. However, a similar train of thoughts applied to the distribution maps (MA-XRF and RIS) of the five other paintings by Oller, Cuchí y Arnau and Frade was followed. The corresponding results are shown in Supplementary Information (Fig. S1 to Fig. S10). A summary of the results and tentative pigment identifications obtained from the non-invasive imaging techniques are present in Table 2 for all paintings under investigation.
Table 2. Overview of the materials identified or tentatively identified through non-invasive analysis of the six paintings investigated.
Painting
|
Color
|
MA-XRF/SEM-EDX
|
Reflectance spectroscopy/µ-Reflectance spectroscopy
|
Element
|
Figure/
Distribution map
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
Distribution map /
Spectrum
|
Maximum absorption (nm)
|
Inflection point (nm)
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
Trapiche
|
Green
|
Cr
|
Fig. S1-Cr
|
Viridian, chrome(III)oxide green and/or chrome yellow + blue
|
Fig. S2-EM2
|
450, 600, 705
|
745
|
Viridian and/or chrome(III)oxide green
|
Blue
|
Co
|
Fig. S1-Co
|
Cobalt blue
|
Fig. S2-EM1
|
540, 580, 630
|
680
|
Cobalt blue
|
Red
|
Hg
|
Fig. S1-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Yellow
|
Fe
|
Fig. S1-Fe
|
Iron oxide/oxy-hydroxide
|
Fig. S2-EM4
|
630, 900
|
N/A
|
Ochre
|
Brown
|
Fig. S2-EM3
|
Dark / black
|
Co, Ca
|
Fig. S1-Co
|
Cobalt blue
|
Fig. S2-EM5
|
580, 630
|
680
|
Cobalt blue
|
Fig. S1-Ca
|
Bone black
|
Ground
|
Pb
|
Fig. S1-Pb
|
Lead white
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
CAM-1329
|
Green
|
Cr, Co, Zn, As, Cu
|
Fig. 2-Cr
|
Viridian, chrome(III)oxide green and/or chrome yellow + blue
|
Fig. 3-EM3
Fig. 3-EM4
Fig. 3-EM5
|
450, 600, 705
|
745
|
Viridian/chrome(III)oxide green + ultramarine blue
Cobalt blue/Cobalt green
Zinc white/Cobalt green
|
Fig. 2-Co
Fig. 2-Zn
|
Cobalt blue + zinc white and/or cobalt green
|
Fig. 2-As
Fig. 2-Cu
|
Emerald and/or Scheele’s green
|
Fig. 3-EM7
|
450, 670
|
|
Emerald green
|
Blue
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Fig. 3-EM2
|
410, 600
|
690
|
Ultramarine blue
|
Yellow
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Fig. 3-EM8
Fig. 3-EM9
|
440, 565, 650
|
500, 695
|
Possibly organic yellow
|
Brown
|
Hg
|
Fig. 2-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
Fig. 3-EM6
|
455, 560, 640
|
580
|
Ochre + vermilion
|
White
|
Pb
|
Fig. 2-Pb
|
Lead white
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Ground
|
Pb
|
Fig. 2-Pb
|
Lead white
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Retouching
|
Ca, Fe, K, Ti, Ba
|
Fig. 2-Ca
Fig. 2-Fe
Fig. 2-Ti
Fig. 2-Ba
|
Calcium carbonate
Iron oxide/oxy - hydroxide
Titanium white
Barium sulfate
|
Fig. 3-EM1
|
630, 900
|
|
Ochre
|
Table 2. Overview of the materials identified or tentatively identified through non-invasive analysis of the six paintings investigated. Continued
Painting
|
Color
|
MA-XRF
|
Reflectance spectroscopy
|
Element
|
Figure/
Distribution map
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
Distribution map /
Spectrum
|
Maximum absorption (nm)
|
Inflection point (nm)
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
CAM-1328
|
Green
|
Cu, As, Cr
|
Fig. S3-Cu
Fig. S3-As
|
Emerald green and/or Scheele’s green
|
Fig. S4-EM1
|
450, 670
|
|
Emerald green
|
Fig. S3-Cr
|
Viridian, chrome(III)oxide green and/or chrome yellow + blue
|
Blue
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Fig. S4-EM5
|
590
|
700
|
Ultramarine blue
|
Red
|
Hg
|
Fig. S3-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
Fig. S4-EM7
|
660
|
590
|
Vermilion-containing red
|
Yellow
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Fig. S4-EM2
Fig. S4-EM3
|
440
|
500
|
Possibly organic yellow
|
Brown
|
Fe, Mn, Hg, Ca
|
Fig. S3-Fe
Fig. S3-Mn
|
Umber
|
Fig. S4-EM6
|
N/A
|
700
|
Unknown brown, most likely containing ultramarine blue
|
Fig. S3-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
Fig. S3-Ca
|
Bone black or calcium carbonate
|
Ground
|
Pb
|
Fig. S3-Pb
|
Lead white
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A-
|
N/A
|
Retouching
|
Ca, Fe, K, Ti, Ba, Co, Zn
|
Fig. S3-Fe
|
Iron oxide/
oxy-hydroxide
|
Fig. S4-EM4
|
630, 890
|
520
|
Ochre
|
Fig. S3-K
|
Unknown
|
Fig. S3-Ca
|
Calcium carbonate
|
Fig. S3-Ti
|
Titanium white
|
Fig. S3-Ba
|
Barium sulfate
|
Fig. S3-Co
Fig. S3-Zn
|
Cobalt blue / cobalt green
Zinc white / cobalt green
|
Table 2. Overview of the materials identified or tentatively identified through non-invasive analysis of the six paintings investigated. Continued
Painting
|
Color
|
MA-XRF
|
Reflectance spectroscopy
|
Element
|
Figure/
Distribution map
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
Distribution map /
Spectrum
|
Maximum absorption (nm)
|
Inflection point (nm)
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
2004-005
|
Green
|
Cr
|
Fig. S5-Cr
|
Viridian, chrome(III)oxide green and/or chrome yellow + blue
|
Fig. S6-EM7
|
450, 600, 710
|
750
|
Viridian and/or chrome(III)oxide green
|
Red
|
Hg
|
Fig. S5-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
Fig. S6-EM5
Fig. S6-EM6
|
540, 660, 700
|
580
|
Mixture containing vermilion
|
Yellow
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Possibly organic
|
Fig. S6-EM1
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Unknown (possibly organic) yellow
|
Brown
|
Fe, Mn, Hg
|
Fig. S5-Fe
Fig. S5-Mn
|
Umber
|
Fig. S6-EM2
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Unknown dark
|
Fig. S5-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
Black
|
Cr, Ca, Mn, Hg
|
Fig. S5-Cr
|
Viridian, chrome(III)oxide green and/or chrome yellow + blue
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Fig. S5-Ca
|
Bone black
|
Fig. S5-Mn
|
Umber
|
Fig. S5-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
Ground
|
Pb
Ca
Ba
|
Fig. S5-Pb
|
Lead white
Calcium carbonate
Barium sulfate
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Retouching
|
Ca, Fe, K, Ti, Ba, Co, Zn
|
Fig. S5-Mn
|
Umber (?)
|
Fig. S6-EM3
|
630, 705, 795
|
|
Possibly organic green
|
Fig. S5-Ca
|
Calcium carbonate
|
Fig. S5-K
|
Unknown
|
Fig. S5-Ti
|
Titanium white
|
Fig. S6-EM4
|
480, 630, 890
|
|
Ochre
|
Fig. S5-Ba
|
Barium sulfate
|
Fig. S5-Co
Fig. S5-Zn
|
Cobalt blue / cobalt green
Zinc white / cobalt green
|
Table 2. Overview of the materials identified or tentatively identified through non-invasive analysis of the six paintings investigated. Continued
Painting
|
Color
|
MA-XRF
|
Reflectance spectroscopy
|
Element
|
Figure/
Distribution map
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
Distribution map /
Spectrum
|
Maximum absorption (nm)
|
Inflection point (nm)
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
2004-007
|
Green
|
Cu, As, Cr
|
Fig. S7-Cu
Fig. S7-As
|
Emerald green and/or Scheele’s green
|
Fig. S8-EM2
|
430, 680
|
|
Emerald green
|
Fig. S7-Cr
|
Viridian, chrome(III)oxide green and/or chrome yellow + blue
|
Fig. S8-EM7
|
680
|
480
|
Prussian blue + yellow
|
Blue
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Fig. S8-EM1
|
680
|
|
Prussian blue
|
Red
|
Hg
|
Fig. S7-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
Fig. S8-EM8
|
N/A
|
590
|
Vermilion
|
Yellow
|
Cr
|
Fig. S7-Cr
|
Chrome yellow
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Brown
|
Fe, Mn
|
Fig. S7-Fe
Fig. S7-Mn
|
Umber
|
Fig. S8-EM3
Fig. S8-EM4
|
690
|
575
|
Unknown
|
Black
|
Ca, Co
|
Fig. S7-Ca
|
Bone black
|
Fig. S8-EM5
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Unknown
|
Fig. S7-Co
|
Cobalt blue
|
Ground
|
Pb, Ba, Zn, Ca, S
|
Fig. S7-Pb
|
Lead white
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Fig. S7-Ba
|
Barium sulfate
|
Fig. S7-Zn
|
Zinc oxide
|
Fig. S7-Ca
|
Calcium carbonate and/or sulfate
|
Possible retouching
|
Zn
|
Fig. S7-Zn
|
Zinc white
|
Fig. S8-EM6
|
630, 710, 795
|
|
Possibly modern pigment
|
Table 2. Overview of the materials identified or tentatively identified through non-invasive analysis of the six paintings investigated. Continued
Painting
|
Color
|
MA-XRF
|
Reflectance spectroscopy
|
Element
|
Figure/
Distribution map
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
Distribution map /
Spectrum
|
Maximum absorption (nm)
|
Inflection point (nm)
|
Tentative pigment identification
|
2003-05-02
|
Green
|
Cr, Cu
|
Fig. S9-Cr
|
Viridian, chrome(III)oxide green and/or chrome yellow + blue
|
Fig.S10-EM4
|
700
|
505
|
Prussian blue + yellow
|
Fig. S9-Cu
|
Cu-based green such as verdigris, copper resinate or malachite
|
Blue
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Fig.S10-EM1
|
700
|
N/A
|
Prussian blue
|
Fig.S10-EM3
|
420, 600
|
720
|
Ultramarine blue
|
Red
|
Fe, Hg
|
Fig. S9-Fe
|
Iron oxide/
oxy-hydroxide
|
Fig.S10-EM2
|
480, 650, 865
|
580
|
Red ochre
|
Fig. S9-Hg
|
Vermilion
|
Fig.S10-EM5
|
485, 650, 900
|
585
|
Vermilion (+ iron oxide)
|
Yellow
|
Fe, Cr
|
Fig. S9-Fe
|
Iron oxide/
oxy-hydroxide
|
Fig.S10-EM6
|
555, 620, 850
|
N/A
|
Yellow ochre + other yellow
|
Fig. S9-Cr
|
Chrome yellow
|
Fig.S10-EM8
|
480, 620
|
520
|
Possibly chrome yellow
|
Brown
|
Fe, Mn
|
Fig. S9-Fe
Fig. S9-Mn
|
Umber
|
|
|
|
|
Black
|
Ca
|
Fig. S9-Ca
|
Bone black
|
Fig.S10-EM9
|
645
|
N/A
|
Bone black
|
Ground
|
Pb
Zn
|
Fig. S9-Pb
|
Lead white
Zinc white
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Table 3. Overview of the materials identified through minimally invasive analyses of the six investigated paintings.
Painting
|
Sample
|
Analytical technique and associated element (SEM-EDX) and Raman shifts (cm-1).
|
Figure
|
Identified materials in ground and colored layers
|
Trapiche
|
CS1
|
SEM-EDX
|
Co, Al, Zn, Pb
|
Fig. 5
|
Ground: N/A
Colored layer: cobalt blue, cobalt green and lead white
|
Raman
|
328, 434, 545, 567, 1050, 1090-1142
|
Fig. 6-a
|
202, 513
|
Fig. 6-b
|
CAM-1329
|
SCR1
|
SEM-EDX
|
Pb, Ba
|
N/A
|
Ground: N/A
Colored layer: Lead white, vermilion, and Ba-containing yellow, likely organic, identified as
PY1 (Hansa Yellow G - C.I. 11680)
|
Raman
|
1050
|
Fig. S14-j
|
250, 281, 340
|
Fig. S14-k
|
SCR2
|
HPLC-DAD-MS/MS
|
|
Fig. 8
|
CAM-1328
|
CS2
|
SEM-EDX
|
Pb, Cr, Cu, As, Ca, Al, Mg
|
Fig. 7
|
Ground: lead white
Colored layer: ultramarine blue, viridian, Emerald green, and vermilion
|
Raman
|
1050
|
Fig. 6-c
|
260, 345, 432, 487, 541, 583, 837
|
Fig. 6-d
|
106, 153, 175, 217, 242, 292, 325, 371, 429, 541
|
Fig. 6-e
|
256, 546, 581, 804, 1092
|
Fig. 6-f
|
252, 284, 342
|
Fig. 6-g
|
SCR3
|
HPLC-DAD-MS/MS
|
|
Fig. 9
|
PY3 (Hansa Yellow 10G - C.I. 11710)
|
2004-005
|
CS3
|
SEM-EDX
|
Ba, Ca, Pb, Fe
|
Fig. S11
|
Ground: likely lead white, likely calcium carbonate, and barium sulfate
Pigmented layer 1 (top): Ba-rich light yellow
Pigmented layer 1 (bottom): Mars red
|
Raman
|
224, 290, 410, 496, 610
|
Fig. S14-a
|
453, 461, 986
|
Fig. S14-b
|
2004-007
|
CS4
|
SEM-EDX,
|
Ground: Zn, Ba, S, Ca, Pb, Si
Colored layer: Pb, Hg, S
|
Fig. S12
|
Ground: lead white, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, quartz, and lithopone
Colored layer: lead white, Prussian blue, and vermilion
|
Raman
|
453, 986
|
Fig. S14-c
|
250, 281, 340
|
Fig. S14-d
|
154, 281, 1085
|
Fig. S14-e
|
127, 202, 463
|
Fig. S14-f
|
1006
|
Fig. S14-g
|
2003-05-02
|
CS5
|
SEM-EDX
|
Pb, Zn, Fe, Al
|
Fig. S13
|
Ground: lead white and zinc white, with inclusion of yellow ochre/goethite
Colored layer: N/A
|
Raman
|
1050
|
Fig. S14-h
|
250, 300, 387
|
Fig. S14-i
|
Micro-invasive investigation: optical microscopy, SEM-EDX, and Raman spectroscopy.
Optical microscopy, SEM-EDX mappings and Raman spectroscopy undertaken on embedded samples allowed for a better understanding of the paint stratigraphy as well as the distribution of the pigments and their identification. SEM-EDX and Raman allowed for the confirmation of the pigments tentatively identified using non-invasive imaging techniques and reported in Table 2 along with gaining insights into the nature of the ground used by the artists.
The sample taken from the light blue sky of Trapiche Meladero presents Co/Al-rich blue and Co/Zn-rich green coarse pigment particles dispersed in a Pb-rich white matrix (Fig. 5). Using Raman spectroscopy, the Pb-rich white matrix was identified as lead white through its bands at 1050 cm-1 (Fig. 6-a), whereas the Co/Zn-rich green and the Co/Al-rich blue particles were identified as cobalt green (Fig. 6-a) and cobalt blue (Fig. 6-b), respectively (Table 3). The positive identification of Co/Zn-rich cobalt green in mixture with a blue pigment in Trapiche Meladero could support the use of the same cobalt green pigment in mixture with Cr-based and Cu-based green hypothesized in CAM1329 (see section “Non-invasive imaging techniques: MA-XRF and RIS”).
While inferred with MA-XRF and SEM-EDX (Fig. S3 and Fig. 7), a lead white ground was identified in the cross section taken from CAM-1328 based on its 1050 cm-1 characteristic Raman band (Fig. 6-c). Furthermore, Cr-based and Cu/As-based greens, also inferred using non-invasive imaging spectroscopies, were also observed with SEM-EDX in the green particles of CS2 (Fig. 7). These pigments were then respectively identified as viridian (Fig. 6-d) and Emerald green (Fig. 6-e) based on their characteristic Raman shift reported in Table 3. Though viridian refers to the hydrated chrome oxide form (Cr2O3·2H2O), the spectrum reported in Fig. 6-d presents bands characteristic for both the hydrated (viridian; 583, 487 and 260 cm-1) and the anhydrous oxide (chrome(III)oxide, 541 and 345 cm-1). Such features for viridian have been reported before [39].
Both techniques also allowed for the identification of ultramarine blue, based on the presence of Al and Si in the EDX spectrum (Fig. 7) and its 256, 546 and 804 cm-1 vibration bands in the Raman spectrum (Fig. 6-f). Vermilion was confirmed in the red particles (not observed with SEM-EDX but identified by Raman through the 252, 284 and 342 cm-1 characteristic bands, Fig. 6-g).
Raman shifts, elements detected using SEM-EDX, and the associated pigment identifications for all five cross sections investigated are summarized in Table 3.
The yellow area of CS2 (Fig. 7) did not yield any elemental response expected for inorganic yellow pigments such as Cr or Zn. A similar observation was made for CS3 (Fig. S11) for which the lower darker reddish-yellow layer contained iron and was identified as Mars red by Raman (Fig. S14-a) whereas the upper light-yellow layer only contained Ba and could not be identified with spectroscopic techniques (Fig. S11). The yellow colors found in Oller’s paintings, which did not present any elemental response in MA-XRF (knife handle, avocado flesh, bowl content, Fig. 2, and Fig. S3) were further investigated using the scrapings taken in the above-mentioned areas (Fig. 1). The SEM-EDX from the knife handle showed a mixture of Pb and Ba (data not shown) but confirmed the lack of elements usually associated with inorganic yellow, further suggesting the use of an organic yellow pigment or lake. However, Raman spectroscopy, which is well suited for the investigation of synthetic organic pigments [40-42], did not produce any spectra which would enable the pigments/colorants to be identified. This further emphasized the need for additional analysis using HPLC-DAD-MS/MS.
Micro-invasive chromatographic analysis: HPLC-DAD-MS/MS
The two yellow samples (SCR2 and SCR3) analyzed by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS revealed the use of two synthetic organic pigments in paintings CAM1329 and CAM1328.
For sample SCR2 (CAM1329) the DAD chromatogram acquired at 350 nm showed a single peak at ca. 9.8 min (Fig. 8-a), corresponding to a compound with a characteristic UV-Vis absorption spectrum showing two distinct absorption maxima at ca. 340 and 410 nm (Fig. 8-a – insert). The mass spectrometric data revealed that the compound produced a positive ion [M+H]+ at m/z 341.124 (Fig. 8-b), but no clear mass was detected in negative ionization mode. The tandem mass spectrum was recorded in positive ionization mode (Fig. 8-c). The results, specifically the retention time, UV-Vis absorption spectrum, accurate mass and tandem mass spectrum, were in perfect agreement with the analyses carried out on a reference sample of PY1 (Hansa Yellow G - C.I. 11680). The molecule ionizes in negative mode as well, producing a [M-H]- ion at m/z 339.110, although the intensity of the negative ion is lower than the intensity of the corresponding positive ion. This explains the result obtained for sample SCR2, as the concentration of the molecule extracted from the tiny sample was not sufficient to produce a detectable negative ion. The results obtained for the reference sample of PY1, including the tandem mass spectrum obtained in negative ionization mode, are reported in Supplementary Information (Fig. S15) together with a brief discussion of the mass fragmentations observed in both positive and negative ionization modes.
For sample SCR3 (CAM1328) the DAD chromatogram acquired at 350 nm showed a single peak at ca. 10.4 min (Fig. 9-a), corresponding to a compound with a very similar UV-Vis absorption spectrum to what observed for sample SCR2, also showing two distinct absorption maxima at ca. 340 and 410 nm (Fig. 9-a – insert). In addition to the different retention time, the compound produced a positive ion [M+H]+ at m/z 395.031 (Fig. 9-b). Also in this case, no clear mass was detected in negative ionization mode. The tandem mass spectrum was therefore recorded in positive ionization mode (Fig. 9-c). The results, specifically the retention time, UV-Vis absorption spectrum, accurate mass and tandem mass spectrum, were in perfect agreement with the analyses carried out on a reference sample of PY3 (Hansa Yellow 10G - C.I. 11710). Similarly to PY1, the molecule ionizes in negative mode as well, producing a [M-H]- ion at m/z 393.016, with a lower intensity compared to the positive ion, again explaining the lack of detection of the deprotonated molecule in sample SCR3, due to a very low concentration. The results obtained for the reference sample of PY3, including the tandem mass spectrum obtained in negative ionization mode, are reported in Supplementary Information (Fig. S16) together with a brief discussion of the mass fragmentations observed in both positive and negative ionization modes.