Which Light for Cultural Heritage: Comparison of Light Sources with Respect to Realgar Photodegradation

This paper is a part of the wider project aiming at determining how lighting systems can be standardized and developed, by studying the interaction between light and the constituting materials. To develop this research, an interesting case-study was performed as starting point: realgar photo-degradation. Light transforms realgar in arsenolite and pararealgar, a compound with the same formula of realgar but characterized by a different atomic disposition and color. This study deepens our knowledge of realgar degradation and determines the capacity of inducing degradation by different lamps. The survey was carried out by means of FTIR and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The results confirm literature studies on realgar degradation and suggest that the LED lamp produces less degradation, keeping a high quality of lighting.