Edinburgh Instruments Spectrometers Find Ancient Egyptian Blue Pigment is a Strong NIR Emitter

The Edinburgh Instruments applications team and Dr Gianluca Accorsi, a Research Fellow at CNR Nanotec in Lecce, Italy, worked on the photo-physical properties of Egyptian blue pigment using our Fluorescence Spectrometers.

The interest in non-invasive investigations for the study and identification of painting materials has greatly increased during the past two decades. The nature of museum objects is such that sampling is always kept to a minimum, thus, a spectroscopic approach is ideal for this purpose.

An ancient pigment, cuprorivaite, CaCuSi4O10 or otherwise called Egyptian blue, has been photo-physically investigated.

The investigation includes qualitative information, i.e. emission and excitation spectra, as well as quantitative that is the photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQY) that have been obtained in the near-infrared (NIR) region.

The pigment proved to be a strong NIR emitter, with the highest known quantum efficiency for a molecule-level chromophore.

For more details please click here

(Photos courtesy of  Gianluca Accorsi of CNR NANO, Lecce and Giovanni Verri of The Courtauld Institute of Art, London)
Disclaimers of Warranties
1. The website does not warrant the following:
1.1 The services from the website meets your requirement;
1.2 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the service;
1.3 The accuracy, reliability of conclusions drawn from using the service;
1.4 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness, or security of any information that you download from the website
2. The services provided by the website is intended for your reference only. The website shall be not be responsible for investment decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from use of the website or the information contained therein<
Proprietary Rights
You may not reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, display, perform, publish, distribute, disseminate, broadcast or circulate to any third party, any materials contained on the services without the express prior written consent of the website or its legal owner.
Recently, OMINSU Vietnam signed a strategic agreement with Seoul Semiconductor, marking a pivotal turning point in elevating the “Made in Vietnam” LED lighting brand. At the signing ceremony, Vietnam’s OMINSU and Seoul Semicond... READ MORE
From June 19 to 22, 2025, Samsung Electronics will collaborate with globally renowned artists to celebrate global diversity, artistic innovation and the power of display technology at Art Basel in Basel 2025, the world’s largest art fair he... READ MORE