^(a) DIEEI, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica Elettronica e Informatica, Università degli Studi di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy

^(b) Di3A, Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy

^(c) DFA, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Ettore Majorana”, Università degli Studi di Catania and INFN CHNet-CT, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, Italy

Email: carlo.trigona@dieei.unict.it

Keywords: Plant-based Sensor, cultural heritage monitoring, Sensor characterization

The talk covers the measurements for cultural heritage and, in particular, the monitoring of parameters which represent the basis for preventive conservation. All works of art undergo spontaneous and irreversible degradation: due to their intrinsic nature, they are subjected to physical, chemical and biological processes that cause changes. This does not only affect historical buildings, which are exposed to atmospheric events, but also to confined environments such as museums, archives and churches. For the latter, we define the "microclimate" of the conservation environment, which establishes close relationships of balance with the material of the artifacts depending on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. It is thus necessary to measure the microclimate in order to intervene and ensure optimal conservation conditions. The knowledge of the physical parameters that influence the placement and/or exposure of the artifacts is essential to understand the phenomenon of degradation and to identify the most appropriate conditions for the conservation.

The activities are aimed at measuring the main physical environmental parameters that characterize the microclimate such as temperature, level of illuminance and amount of ultraviolet radiation with an innovative multidisciplinary approach. Its peculiarity is based on the use of plants as detectors of changes in these parameters, and the main objective is to identify which of these living and naturally green sensors is most suitable for measuring each of the parameters of interest. The innovation is based on the use of plants as detectors thanks to the metabolic processes related to chemo-electric transduction mechanisms that enable the measurement of the aforementioned parameters. It is worth noting that the solutions currently used are based on silicon devices that are not biodegradable and that produce CO₂ from production to disposal. From this point of view, no toxicity is associated with plants and, thanks to the natural process of photosynthesis, these living sensors are even able to absorb carbon dioxide from the environment. An essential characteristic concerns their mimetic aspect which do not affect the fruition of the artworks.

References

1 - C. TRIGONA, G. NAPOLI, S. PASQUALE, I. PUGLISI, A. BAGLIERI, A.M. GUELI (2021). A Plant-Based Sensor for UV-A Radiation Measurements, 2021 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC), May 17-20, 2021, Glasgow, Scotland.

2 - A. BAGLIERI, A.M. GUELI, M. PACE, S. PASQUALE, I. PUGLISI, C. TRIGONA (2021). Exploitation of Chemo-Electrical Transduction Properties of Soil as a Function of Energy Radiation Doses and Temperature: Preliminary Results, 18th IEEE International Multi-Conference on Systems, Signals & Devices (SSD), March 22-25, 2021, Monastir, Tunisia.

3 - C. TRIGONA (2020). Feasibility of a Soil-based Sensor for Measurement of Temperature, 7th IEEE International Multi-Conference on Systems, Signals & Devices 2020, July 20-23, 2020, Sfax, Tunisia.