TY - JOUR A1 - Schlegel, Moritz-Caspar A1 - Müller, Urs A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Emmerling, Franziska T1 - Deciphering the sulfate attack of cementitious materials by high-resolution micro-x-ray diffraction JF - Analytical chemistry N2 - The durability of cementitious materials depends, among others, on their resistance against chemical attack during the service life of a building. Here, we present an approach to analyze changes in the phase composition due to chemical attack in the form of sulfate ingress within the microstructure. Micro-X-ray (µX-ray) diffraction using synchrotron radiation in Debye–Scherrer (transmission) geometry allowed a spatial resolution of 10 µm. Phase transformations in the wake of damaging processes were observed in a detailed high-resolution imaging study. In comparison, samples containing supplementary cementitious materials were investigated and used to reconstruct the influence of different degeneration processes in detail. Additionally, reaction fronts within the bulk were localized by micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis. The experimental setup provided the possibility for analyzing the phase assemblage of a given sample without destroying the microstructure. The specimens for phase analysis are thick sections of the primary material and can be used for further microscopic analysis of the microstructure and microchemistry, e.g., scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) or Raman spectroscopy. PY - 2011 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/ac200181g SN - 0003-2700 SN - 1520-6882 VL - 83 IS - 10 SP - 3744 EP - 3749 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-23669 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -