Problem Understanding
The customer reports contamination from powdery black material inside a silicone tube
Providing you with the Solution
The SEM-EDS elemental microanalysis of the black contaminating material show presence of copper and sulfur, silicon, oxygen and carbon.
Copper and sulfur indicate the presence of sulfur sulphides: the ratio in Cu/S atoms is about 1 and is indicative of copper sulfide II (CuS - black).
Silicon is attributable to silicone residues of the tube, while carbon and oxygen are partly referable to silicone residues and partly to other organic material.
CONTAMINATION --> CuS (black)
Chemical analysis (microanalysis) in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) is carried out by measuring the energy and intensity distribution of X-rays generated by the electron beam on the sample using an EDS detector (energy dispersion spectrometry).
SEM+EDS is a powerful means of investigation of chemically inhomogeneous solids at the microscopic scale and coatings.
WE ARE AVAILABLE TO ANALYSE YOUR SAMPLES IN ORDER TO PROVIDE YOU WITH ASSISTANCE AND SOLUTIONS TO YOUR PROBLEMS. CONTACT US TO RECEIVE INFORMATION AND THE QUOTATION OF OUR SERVICES.