Synthesis and X-Ray Diffraction Analyses of Calcium Hydroxide Nanoparticles in Aqueous Suspension

Calcium hydroxide nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions (also called nanolime) were successfully employed in Cultural Heritage conservation thanks to the ability of favoring readhesion of the pictorial layer on original carbonatic substrates or allowing to a better superficial cohesion and protection of treated stones. In this work, we have synthesized nanolime particles in aqueous suspension by two different methods. The produced particles were characterized in the laboratory, in terms of structural and morphological features, by means of X-Ray diffraction powder (XRD) and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Nanoparticles were crystalline, regularly shaped, hexagonally plated and with side dimensions generally ranging from 300 nm to 30 nm or less. Crystal structure of nanolime particles directly in the aqueous suspension, has been also analyzed by synchrotron diffraction from X-ray synchrotron radiation (SR-XRD); data have been analyzed by means of the Rietveld method and we have investigated the structure of Ca(OH)2 particles in suspension in terms of cell parameters, atomic coordinates, bond lengths and angles.