Potentiometric titration of microhydrolysis products of oils: A new low-cost methodology and investment for the analysis of oil binders present in works of art.

The analysis of oil paints present in historical paintings is commonly carried out for research, authenticity and forensic purposes. This paper proposes potentiometric titration and calculation of the fatty acids concentrations with the aid of the Best7 program as an alternative technique to characterize the oil binders used in works of art. The method involves determining the ratio between the levels of palmitic (P) and stearic (S) acids present in the microhydrolysis products of commercial oil binders and paints. The microhydrolysis products were characterized, using FTIR spectroscopy, by displacement of the carbonyl band and the pKa values for the C16 and C18 in the system studied were determined. The P/S ratios found for the microhydrolysis products of linseed, palm and nut oils were 1.65, 5.91 and 2.42, respectively. For the commercial paints analyzed, values ranging from 1.34 to 1.98 were obtained, characterizing the presence of linseed oil. The values were confirmed by GC-MS and are in agreement with those reported in the literature for the oils investigated in this study.