Fall 2023 - Chemical Analysis Class Projects

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Document Type

Open Access Poster

Presentation Type

Open Access Poster Presentation

Description

  • The UNI Museum possesses a mask that originated from the Mende people of Sierra Leone, and has since been used as an educational tool. While the rafia fibers at the base have been replaced, the wooden mask is original.
  • Under black light, the mask shows a complex fluorescence pattern that includes distinct regions of green, orange, and dark purple.
  • This work used UV Vis spectroscopy to analyze the mask and potentially identify functional groups associated with compounds on the surface, such as oils and other wood preservatives. As many historical wood preservatives are known to damage their artifacts over time, investigating the surface of the mask is essential to the longevity of this important cultural artifact.
  • Emission spectroscopy measures the intensity of light that is emitted (fluoresced) from a sample upon excitation by a light source. A monochromator (wavelength selector) is used to measure emission intensity across a set wavelength range.
  • Reflectance spectroscopy studies the percentage of incoming light that gets reflected, rather than absorbed, from the surface of an object. This is communicated as percent reflectance, which ranges from 0% (no reflectance) to 100% (complete reflectance).

Publication Date

Fall 2023

Faculty Advisor

Joshua Sebree

Department

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Publisher

Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

UV-Vis Spectral Analysis of Mende Cultural Mask

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