Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy for Atmospheric Particle Analysis

Mark S. Germani; P R Buseck

doi:10.1021/ac00020a008

Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy for Atmospheric Particle Analysis

Mark S. Germani, P R Buseck

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

A procedure is described for the analysis of individual atmospheric particles using an automated analytical scanning electron microscope (AASEM). The procedure incorporates a novel automatic video thresholding method that is essential for long-term unattended analysis of particles as small as 1 (μm in diameter. The procedure is evaluated by using particle dispersions prepared from USGS standard rock powders. Mineral particle types were identified by using cluster analysis. Typical precision of ±10% for major mineral types and ±20% for minor mineral types were determined from replicate analyses. The results of a chemical mass balance between individual particle analyses and bulk chemical compositions of the standard rock powders indicate a precision of better than ±15% for most elements. The accuracy of the procedure, when normalized to SIO₂, ranges from 1 % to more than a factor of 3. Large discrepancies for some elements are due to errors in particle volume calculations and problems associated with analyzing minor mineral types.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	2232-2237
Number of pages	6
Journal	Analytical Chemistry
Volume	63
Issue number	20
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/ac00020a008
State	Published - Oct 1 1991

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Analytical Chemistry

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10.1021/ac00020a008

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abstract = "A procedure is described for the analysis of individual atmospheric particles using an automated analytical scanning electron microscope (AASEM). The procedure incorporates a novel automatic video thresholding method that is essential for long-term unattended analysis of particles as small as 1 (μm in diameter. The procedure is evaluated by using particle dispersions prepared from USGS standard rock powders. Mineral particle types were identified by using cluster analysis. Typical precision of ±10% for major mineral types and ±20% for minor mineral types were determined from replicate analyses. The results of a chemical mass balance between individual particle analyses and bulk chemical compositions of the standard rock powders indicate a precision of better than ±15% for most elements. The accuracy of the procedure, when normalized to SIO2, ranges from 1 % to more than a factor of 3. Large discrepancies for some elements are due to errors in particle volume calculations and problems associated with analyzing minor mineral types.",

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AB - A procedure is described for the analysis of individual atmospheric particles using an automated analytical scanning electron microscope (AASEM). The procedure incorporates a novel automatic video thresholding method that is essential for long-term unattended analysis of particles as small as 1 (μm in diameter. The procedure is evaluated by using particle dispersions prepared from USGS standard rock powders. Mineral particle types were identified by using cluster analysis. Typical precision of ±10% for major mineral types and ±20% for minor mineral types were determined from replicate analyses. The results of a chemical mass balance between individual particle analyses and bulk chemical compositions of the standard rock powders indicate a precision of better than ±15% for most elements. The accuracy of the procedure, when normalized to SIO2, ranges from 1 % to more than a factor of 3. Large discrepancies for some elements are due to errors in particle volume calculations and problems associated with analyzing minor mineral types.

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Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy for Atmospheric Particle Analysis

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