An Al alloy sample was plated using the acid reduced Electroless nickel plating bath containing sodium hypophosphite (40 g/l), nickel chloride (30 g/l), sodium citrate (25 g/l), ammonium chloride (50 g/l) and PCl2 (0.02 g/l).
The post EN-plating treatment included: rinsing in water, anti-tarnish cleaning in 5 g/l potassium-di-chromate solution and drying in oven
I examined an electroless-nickel plate using a JEOL JSM-7600F SEM with EDX attachment.
Thank you
The sum of all elements other than chromium 101.13%. So there is no chromium. If we assume that the chromium is not present, then the sum of the components is 100%. Perhaps Chromium, which has been in the alloy, soluted in your electrolyte. The alloy became less ego was before electrolysis.
Best regards.
Your EDX results were shown to two decimal places, but uncertainty was not shown. The accuracy of EDX results depends on several factors; matrix, background, peak interferences, energy and quality of the electron beam, calibration, ...
The negative result for Cr is likely well within the error of the estimate. Reporting negative values is a poor, but common practice. All estimates are worthless without error bounds.
What were the elemental fractions you expected?
I'm agree with Yuri and Joseph, if consider EDS detection limit, I'm sure there is no % Cr.
I'm very grateful for your help and contributions. Thinking in the direction of Yuri and Joseph, then how did Cr come into the EDX results in the first place ( I.e if it's to be assumed not present)?. In presenting this report, do I need to remove the Cr?
The EDX algorithm usually responds to a element library that is custom to the analysis. Likely, a library was used that requested Cr. Likewise, a library that does not include Cr would not report it. You should ensure that the operator analyzes for elements of concern.
There are other potential problems with EDX analysis depending on settings and algorithm. One problem is the beam energy may not be sufficient to excite the x-rays for a given element. Another problem is the algorithm may not be appropriate for the matrix and mounting materials.
An investigator must know the capabilities and requirements for the analysis. Equipment operators may not be trained for the particular analysis, so will perform the analysis they know.
Olawale,
Can you inform us Al alloy nominal chemical composition, EHT (tension kV), WD (work distance mm) and I probe (nA) that you worked? May be, I don't Know about the others, could suggest you some optimal machine conditions or change to another compositional analysis technique.
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