Cadmium yellows are a class of inorganic pigments introduced during the middle of the 19th c. and widely employed by modern painters. Recent research has reported the degradation of cadmium yellow paints in important artworks such as The Scream by Edward Munch, raising questions about its triggering factors. To address this issue, we investigated, for the first time, the historical production methods of Winsor & Newton, one of the leading suppliers of artists’ materials. Starting from in-depth documentary research of the Winsor & Newton 19th c. archive database, the foundation for an informed selection of historical preparation methods of these yellow pigments was provided. This allowed us to replicate 19th c. recipes, enabling us to understand better historical synthesis processes and their impact on the properties of cadmium yellow pigments. The pigments prepared, as well as reference pigments, were characterized through surface-sensitive methods in a multi-faceted analytical approach. The results show that pigments synthesized following historical indications present polytype crystal structure and crystal grains and aggregates much smaller than reference pigments. More interestingly, the detection of chlorine ions on particle surface (in the form of Cl bonded to a metal) was possible by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analysis, allowing its exclusion as an environmental contaminant. Finally, we have observed a strong sensitivity of the photoluminescence emission to pigment crystallite and grain size, an occurrence which may significantly impact on the photo-reactivity of the pigment in artworks.

镉黄是在19世纪中期引入的一类无机颜料。并被现代画家广泛采用。最近的研究报告称，在重要的艺术品（如《呐喊》）中，镉黄色涂料的降解爱德华·蒙克（Edward Munch）提出的有关其触发因素的问题。为了解决这个问题，我们首次调查了艺术家资料的主要供应商之一温莎和牛顿的历史生产方法。从温莎和牛顿19世纪c的深入文献研究开始。档案数据库，为这些黄色颜料的历史制备方法的知情选择提供了基础。这使我们能够复制19世纪c。配方，使我们能够更好地了解历史合成过程及其对镉黄颜料性能的影响。通过表面敏感的方法在多方面的分析方法中对制得的颜料以及参考颜料进行了表征。结果表明，根据历史指示合成的颜料具有多型晶体结构和晶粒，且聚集体比参考颜料小得多。更有趣的是，可以通过X射线光电子能谱分析检测颗粒表面的氯离子（以与金属键合的Cl的形式），从而排除了作为环境污染物的氯离子。最后，我们观察到光致发光发射对颜料微晶和晶粒尺寸的强烈敏感性，这种情况可能会严重影响艺术品中颜料的光反应性。通过X射线光电子能谱分析可以检测颗粒表面的氯离子（以与金属键合的Cl的形式），从而将其排除为环境污染物。最后，我们观察到光致发光发射对颜料微晶和晶粒尺寸的强烈敏感性，这种情况可能会严重影响艺术品中颜料的光反应性。通过X射线光电子能谱分析可以检测颗粒表面的氯离子（以与金属键合的Cl的形式），从而将其排除为环境污染物。最后，我们观察到光致发光发射对颜料微晶和晶粒尺寸的强烈敏感性，这种情况可能会严重影响艺术品中颜料的光反应性。