XPS Monitoring of Calcarenite Building Walls Long Exposed Outdoors: Estimation of Deterioration Trend from the Time Sequence of Curve-Fitted Spectra and PCA Exploration of the Large Dataset

A temporal monitoring of monumental buildings in calcarenite, exposed outdoors in the considered Mediterranean environment of Southern Italy, was performed using XPS, the surface-specific technique. The methodology adopted to monitor the surfaces interacting with atmospheric agents and biotic/abioti...

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Main Authors: Maria A. Acquavia, Francesco Cardellicchio, Mariangela Curcio, Fausto Langerame, Anna M. Salvi, Laura Scrano, Carmen Tesoro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7741
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author Maria A. Acquavia
Francesco Cardellicchio
Mariangela Curcio
Fausto Langerame
Anna M. Salvi
Laura Scrano
Carmen Tesoro
author_facet Maria A. Acquavia
Francesco Cardellicchio
Mariangela Curcio
Fausto Langerame
Anna M. Salvi
Laura Scrano
Carmen Tesoro
author_sort Maria A. Acquavia
collection DOAJ
description A temporal monitoring of monumental buildings in calcarenite, exposed outdoors in the considered Mediterranean environment of Southern Italy, was performed using XPS, the surface-specific technique. The methodology adopted to monitor the surfaces interacting with atmospheric agents and biotic/abiotic pollutants involved progressive sampling, extended to about five years, from the walls of a new building, specifically installed in the immediate vicinity of an ancient farmhouse in an advanced state of degradation. Taking the ancient building as the final temporal reference, the aim was to obtain adequate information on the degradation processes of calcarenitic stones, from the initial and evolving phases of the new building towards those representative of the old reference. A large set of XPS data was obtained by resolving, through curve-fitting, the acquired spectra into component peaks, identified as ‘indicator’ chemical groups, which trend as a function of time, supported by PCA, demonstrates a close compositional similarity between the samples of the new building analyzed after 52 months from its installation and those of the ancient building dating back to over a century ago. The results obtained can be considered in the diagnostic strategy of the ongoing PNRR programs dedicated to the care of historical monuments and ecosystem sustainability.
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spelling doaj-art-e22ff1ebb45d4b8ca36b85675778ad792025-08-20T02:45:37ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-07-011514774110.3390/app15147741XPS Monitoring of Calcarenite Building Walls Long Exposed Outdoors: Estimation of Deterioration Trend from the Time Sequence of Curve-Fitted Spectra and PCA Exploration of the Large DatasetMaria A. Acquavia0Francesco Cardellicchio1Mariangela Curcio2Fausto Langerame3Anna M. Salvi4Laura Scrano5Carmen Tesoro6Department of Basic and Applied Sciences (DiSBA), University of Basilicata, Vialedell’AteneoLucano 10, 85100 Potenza, ItalyCNR—National Research Council—Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, C. da S. Loja—Industrial Area, Tito Scalo, 85050 Potenza, ItalyDepartment of Basic and Applied Sciences (DiSBA), University of Basilicata, Vialedell’AteneoLucano 10, 85100 Potenza, ItalyDepartment of Basic and Applied Sciences (DiSBA), University of Basilicata, Vialedell’AteneoLucano 10, 85100 Potenza, ItalyDepartment of Basic and Applied Sciences (DiSBA), University of Basilicata, Vialedell’AteneoLucano 10, 85100 Potenza, ItalyDepartment for Humanistic, Scientific and Social Innovation, University of Basilicata, Via Lanera 20, 75100 Matera, ItalyDepartment of Basic and Applied Sciences (DiSBA), University of Basilicata, Vialedell’AteneoLucano 10, 85100 Potenza, ItalyA temporal monitoring of monumental buildings in calcarenite, exposed outdoors in the considered Mediterranean environment of Southern Italy, was performed using XPS, the surface-specific technique. The methodology adopted to monitor the surfaces interacting with atmospheric agents and biotic/abiotic pollutants involved progressive sampling, extended to about five years, from the walls of a new building, specifically installed in the immediate vicinity of an ancient farmhouse in an advanced state of degradation. Taking the ancient building as the final temporal reference, the aim was to obtain adequate information on the degradation processes of calcarenitic stones, from the initial and evolving phases of the new building towards those representative of the old reference. A large set of XPS data was obtained by resolving, through curve-fitting, the acquired spectra into component peaks, identified as ‘indicator’ chemical groups, which trend as a function of time, supported by PCA, demonstrates a close compositional similarity between the samples of the new building analyzed after 52 months from its installation and those of the ancient building dating back to over a century ago. The results obtained can be considered in the diagnostic strategy of the ongoing PNRR programs dedicated to the care of historical monuments and ecosystem sustainability.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7741calcarenitemediterranean monumentsXPS analysisPCAbiological analysissurface Indicators of degradation
spellingShingle Maria A. Acquavia
Francesco Cardellicchio
Mariangela Curcio
Fausto Langerame
Anna M. Salvi
Laura Scrano
Carmen Tesoro
XPS Monitoring of Calcarenite Building Walls Long Exposed Outdoors: Estimation of Deterioration Trend from the Time Sequence of Curve-Fitted Spectra and PCA Exploration of the Large Dataset
Applied Sciences
calcarenite
mediterranean monuments
XPS analysis
PCA
biological analysis
surface Indicators of degradation
title XPS Monitoring of Calcarenite Building Walls Long Exposed Outdoors: Estimation of Deterioration Trend from the Time Sequence of Curve-Fitted Spectra and PCA Exploration of the Large Dataset
title_full XPS Monitoring of Calcarenite Building Walls Long Exposed Outdoors: Estimation of Deterioration Trend from the Time Sequence of Curve-Fitted Spectra and PCA Exploration of the Large Dataset
title_fullStr XPS Monitoring of Calcarenite Building Walls Long Exposed Outdoors: Estimation of Deterioration Trend from the Time Sequence of Curve-Fitted Spectra and PCA Exploration of the Large Dataset
title_full_unstemmed XPS Monitoring of Calcarenite Building Walls Long Exposed Outdoors: Estimation of Deterioration Trend from the Time Sequence of Curve-Fitted Spectra and PCA Exploration of the Large Dataset
title_short XPS Monitoring of Calcarenite Building Walls Long Exposed Outdoors: Estimation of Deterioration Trend from the Time Sequence of Curve-Fitted Spectra and PCA Exploration of the Large Dataset
title_sort xps monitoring of calcarenite building walls long exposed outdoors estimation of deterioration trend from the time sequence of curve fitted spectra and pca exploration of the large dataset
topic calcarenite
mediterranean monuments
XPS analysis
PCA
biological analysis
surface Indicators of degradation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7741
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