Nineteenth-century nanotechnology: The plasmonic properties of daguerreotypes

Abstract

Plasmons, the collective oscillations of mobile electrons in metallic nanostructures, interact strongly with light and produce vivid colors, thus offering a new route to develop color printing technologies with improved durability and material simplicity compared with conventional pigments. Over the last decades, researchers in plasmonics have been devoted to manipulating the characteristics of metallic nanostructures to achieve unique and controlled optical effects. However, before plasmonic nanostructures became a science, they were an art. The invention of the daguerreotype was publicly announced in 1839 and is recognized as the earliest photographic technology that successfully captured an image from a camera, with resolution and clarity that remain impressive even by today’s standards. Here, using a unique combination of daguerreotype artistry and expertise, experimental nanoscale surface analysis, and electromagnetic simulations, we perform a comprehensive analysis of the plasmonic properties of these early photographs, which can be recognized as an example of plasmonic color printing. Despite the large variability in size, morphology, and material composition of the nanostructures on the surface of a daguerreotype, we are able to identify and characterize the general mechanisms that give rise to the optical response of daguerreotypes. Therefore, our results provide valuable knowledge to develop preservation protocols and color printing technologies inspired by past ones.

Spectroscopies and Electron Microscopies Unravel the Origin of the First Colour Photographs

“…Conversely, the use of silver halides in photography since the first half of the XIX th century led to intense research on their physico‐chemical properties and their interaction with photolytic silver nanoparticles . More recently, the plasmonic properties of silver nanoparticles at the surface of daguerreotypes have been studied comprehensively with modern analytical techniques . Research on silver halides is experiencing a strong resurgence of interest due to applications in photochromic devices and in plasmonic photocatalysis .…”

Highly Photosensitive Daguerreotypes and their Reproduction: Physico‐chemical Elucidation of Innovative Processes in Photography Developed around 1840 in Vienna

“…During the preparation of the daguerreotype, a silver‐plated surface was sensitized by silver iodine vapour and exposed to light in a camera. Then the plate was fumigated with mercury vapour and permanently fixed with a hot sodium thiosulfate solution . At the beginning of the daguerreotype, long exposure times were a hindrance for the creation of portraits and moving scenes like street views.…”

“…Then the plate was fumigated with mercury vapour and permanently fixed with a hot sodium thiosulfate solution. [1,[7][8][9] At the beginning of the daguerreotype, long exposure times were a hindrance for the creation of portraits and moving scenes like street views. On the one hand, this was due to the low light optics available at the time, and on the other hand, to the relatively weak photosensitivity of the iodized silver surface.…”

Plasmonics sheds light on the nanotechnology of daguerreotypes

“…Until now, however, the actual nanometer-scale physical and chemical composition that results in the unique optical properties of daguerreotypes has remained essentially unknown. In PNAS, Schlather et al (1) report a detailed study that elucidates the nanoscale origin of the major characteristics of daguerreotype images. Their unique sensitivity to viewing angle provides a critical clue to the nature of the chemistry of daguerreotypes: That the image-rendering chemistry involves the creation of nanoparticles capable of redirecting incident light in a spectrally dependent manner, rather than merely absorbing light and creating a flat contrast, as one would anticipate with molecular chromophores used in subsequent photographic processes.…”

“…Reprinted with permission from ref. 1. ( C ) Realistic reproduction of Monet’s Impression, Sunrise using an expanded palette of colors composed of aluminum nanostructures.…”