this is the SEM image of a cement sample, I cannot see any variation in the phases such as C3S, C2S, C3A, C4AF. I did not use EPOTEK 301 as it is expensive and used araldite (epoxy and resign). should I change the resin to a low viscus to get results.
your feedback is important to me.
Hello,
The pictures look quite unsharp in terms of phase quantification. By the way, if you want to monitor the evolution of C3S, C2S, etc, probably XRD (plus Rietveld analysis of course) is an easier and more reliable approach. However, SEM/EDS offers you other advantages, such as CSH composition determination and spatial distribution of hydrates.
Your images are taken with backscattered electrons, and even tho I see a lot of texture. You've a big issue with your polishing, this is critical if you want to make accurate measurements in the microscope. You need to go at least down to 1 micron. Also, the impregnation may be not sufficiently good. Try to do it under vacuum, as this will allow the resin to fill in the porosity. Then you can polish and create a nice flat surface for observation. Araldite is probably not appropriate, try a lower viscosity one (LR White is quite good, but there are a lot of options).
Hope this would give you some ideas to try,
Franco
thanks for the reply sir I am using 0.25 micron diamond polish now, does it mean I should increase the polish size of the diamond paste.
I do not see any problems with polishing. Of course magnification is a bit low to see if it is a problem. Resin infiltration under vacuum is a good idea (infiltration was not sufficient). No advice on cement - not my field.
Overall brightens of images is too high, makes it a bit more difficult to analyse them.