Analytische Chemie
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Organisationseinheit der BAM
- 8 Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung (531)
- 1 Analytische Chemie; Referenzmaterialien (499)
- 6 Materialchemie (404)
- 6.1 Oberflächen- und Dünnschichtanalyse (137)
- 8.2 Zerstörungsfreie Prüfmethoden für das Bauwesen (126)
- 1.4 Prozessanalytik (122)
- 8.4 Akustische und elektromagnetische Verfahren (115)
- 1.1 Anorganische Spurenanalytik (113)
- 6.3 Strukturanalytik (98)
- 4 Material und Umwelt (96)
Resource Analytics with the help of process analytical technology and the use of online methods is becoming increasingly important for mining and processing technologies and for the recovery of raw materials from secondary raw materials. Current online analytical methods like laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), X-ray fluorescence analysis (RFA), or Raman spectroscopy for the characterization of primary and secondary raw materials are increasingly being used in close association with the technologies for exploration and extraction, mechanical and metallurgical processing, as well as for recycling. Because of the complex matrices such methods are a considerable challenge at the same time. The use of reference materials, which are derived from appropriate matrices, can considerably shorten calibration and method development times. As an example, the development of an online process control method for recovery of phosphorus from sewage sludge ashes is discussed. A combination of LIBS and RFA was developed for the determination of element contents in sewage sludge ashes and their products coming from a thermo-chemical reprocessing step, which removes pollutants.
Hydroformylation represents an important homogeneous catalyzed process, which is widely used within chemical industry. Usually applied for short-chained alkenes like Propene and Butene aldehydes obtained from alkenes >C6 are relevant intermediates in production of plasticizers, surfactants and polymers. Today the active catalyst species is often based on valuable Rhodium complexes in aqueous solution. This implies the problem of limited water solubility of the reactants, which is acceptable for short chain lengths, but states a problem in case of higher alkenes. Along with that efficient separation and recycling of the catalyst becomes more complicated. There are different approaches tackling this problem, e.g., by using of salt formation in the BASF process or downstream distillation within the Shell process. Another promising approach is the processing within a microemulsion by using a suitable surfactant system. This maintains a large interface between catalyst and reactants, as well as the possibility of catalyst recycling via downstream phase separation in a settler. Optimized processing within the three-phase region in accordance with Kahlweit fish leads to an efficient product separation, while the valuable catalyst and surfactant can be recycled into the process. In this work we present reaction monitoring of Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1 dodecene. Experiments were conducted on a specialized laboratory setup, which allows coupling of different online spectroscopic methods (Raman, HR-NMR, LF-NMR, UV/VIS) under process-similar conditions. The focus of this contribution lies on results of high-resolution Online-NMR obtained during calibration experiments for development of a multivariate model for Raman spectroscopy, which will be part of another contribution.
Inhalt des Vortrags sind die Einführung und Erläuterung der Ziele und Inhalte der Technologie-Roadmap „Prozesssensoren 4.0“, welche von der NAMUR im November 2015 veröffentlicht wurde. Dazu werden Beispiele von aktuellen und zukünftigen Anwendungen erläutert.
Derzeit finden gravierende Veränderungen im Umfeld der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnik statt, die eine große Chance für die optimierte Prozessführung und Wertschöpfung mit darauf abgestimmten vernetzt kommunizierenden Sensoren bieten. Diese Art „smarter“ Sensoren stellen Dienste innerhalb eines Netzwerks bereit und nutzen Informationen daraus. Dadurch ergibt sich aktuell die Notwendigkeit, die Anforderungen an Prozesssensoren sowie an deren Kommunikationsfähigkeiten detaillierter zu beschreiben.
Vernetzte Sensoren sind die Voraussetzung für die Realisierung von Cyberphysischen Produktionssystemen (CPPS) und zukünftiger Automatisierungskonzepte für die Prozess-industrie.
Wesentliche Ziele der Roadmap sind das Zusammenbringen von Technologie- und Marktsicht, Analyse und Priorisierung des (zukünftigen) Informationsbedarfs in verfahrenstechnischen Prozessen, das Erarbeiten von Entwicklungszielen für neue Sensorik sowie das Aufzeigen möglicher Lösungsansätze und ihres Realisierungszeitraums. Darüber hinaus liefert sie Perspektiven für Forschungs- und Entwicklungsförderung und gibt Ansätze für die Normungsarbeit.
qNMR provides the most universally applicable form of direct purity determination without need for reference materials of impurities or the calculation of response factors but only exhibiting suitable NMR properties. The development of CRMs addressing qNMR specific measurement issues will give analysts compounds ideally suited for the analytical method and also provide full characterisation of qNMR related parameters to enable more realistic uncertainty budgets. These materials will give users the tools to exploit qNMR more easily and enable them to speed up analytical method development and reduce the time and financial burden of multiple analytical testing.
Homogen katalysierte Reaktionsschritte sind ein wichtiges Werkzeug in der chemischen Industrie. Durch die milden Reaktionsbedingungen hinsichtlich Temperatur und Druck bei gleichzeitig hoher Selektivität bieten diese die Möglichkeit energieeffizienter und ressourcenschonender Produktionsschritte. Eine der wichtigsten industriellen Anwendungen bildet die Hydroformylierung. Hier besteht das Katalysatorsystem meist aus Übergangsmetallkomplexen, vorwiegend Kobalt und Rhodium, die zur Steuerung der Selektivität und Löslichkeit mit mehrzähnigen Liganden koordiniert sind. Diese Komplexe liegen für eine effiziente Katalysator-rückführung in wässriger Lösung vor, was jedoch die Anwendbarkeit auf kurzkettige Edukte mit hinreichender Wasserlöslichkeit beschränkt.
Ein möglicher Lösungsansatz für die Verwendung langkettiger Alkene ist die Umsetzung der Reaktion in einer Mikroemulsion. Durch die gesteigerte Phasen-grenzfläche besteht ein effektiver Kontakt von Katalysator und Reaktanden bei gleichzeitiger Möglichkeit der Produktseparation durch Phasentrennung, während der Katalysator dem Reaktionsschritt zurückgeführt wird und das Verfahren damit wirtschaftlich macht.[1]
Am Beispiel der Reaktion von 1-Dodecen zu Tridecanal wird der Einsatz von Online-NMR- und -Raman-Spektroskopie für die Prozessanalytik (sowie Applikation von komplexen Regelungskonzepten) innerhalb eines mizellaren Systems demonstriert. Ein speziell konzipierter Laboraufbau ermöglicht die Durchführung von Experimenten unter Prozessbedingungen für die in Mikroemulsionen äußerst anspruchsvolle Entwicklung und Kalibrierung von multivariaten Modellen für die Raman-Spektroskopie. Diese konnten anschließend im Rahmen einer mehrtägigen Betriebs-studie einer Miniplant am realen technischen System erprobt werden.
Zinnober (HgS) ist neben Eisenoxiden (Fe2O3 oder FeOOH) das am häufigsten verwendete mineralische Rotpigment. Die relativ seltenen Vorkommen in der Natur wurden schon in der Vorgeschichte abgebaut und in Gräbern und auf Felsmalerei als rote Farbe verwendet. In Asien spielt Zinnoberrot als Schreibtusche eine wichtige Rolle. Besonders zur Zeit des Buddhismus findet sich das Rot verstärkt auch auf Wandmalerei und Statuen. Schon früh beherrschte man die synthetische Herstellung und Optimierung des Pigments mit Zusatzstoffen, so dass von einer regional unterschiedlichen Verarbeitung auszugehen ist. Auf Grund seiner physikalisch-chemischen Eigenschaften (gute Eindringtiefe, konservierende Wirkung) wurde das leuchtend rote Farbpigment auch als Handelsware genutzt.
Die Pigmentanalyse gibt Auskunft über
- kulturelle Vorkommen, die Nutzung von Zinnober als Rotpigment in einem bestimmten Kontext.
- natürliche Vorkommen, die Herkunft des Minerals entsprechend der regionalen Bildungsbedingungen.
- Werkstätten, die Herstellung als Farbpigment mit unterschiedlichen Techniken.
Vorgestellt werden rote Tinten und Tuschen auf Schriftstücken der Seidenstraßenkulturen mit Zinnober als charakteristisch für eine bestimmte Tradition in der Verwendung und möglicher Indikator für kulturellen Austausch. Die in unterschiedlichen Schriften und Sprachen erhaltenen Manuskriptfragmente gelangten Anfang des letzten Jahrhunderts von der Oasenstadt Turfan nach Berlin, wo sie entziffert und kulturhistorisch erforscht werden. Die chemische Zusammensetzung ihrer Rottöne wird differenziert und in Rückkopplung mit der historischen Klassifikation der untersuchten Objekte verglichen. Eine solche Identifizierung von Farbtypen kann zur Einordnung von Kulturobjekten fragwürdiger Herkunft herangezogen werden.
Concrete is known to be a very useful, flexible and durable construction material. However, due to excess load, fatigue, chemical processes, freeze-thaw or reinforcement corrosion concrete may suffer from degradation. If detected too late, repair is difficult and expensive.
The propagation of ultrasonic waves is influenced by changes in the properties and structure of the material, including, but not limited to, stress, temperature, moisture content and microcracking. Ultrasonic velocieties thus may serve as indicators for structural health. Traditional ultrasonic methods as transmission time of flight measurements are used since decades, but are not sensible enough to show subtle changes. Coda Wave Interferometry (CWI), originally developed in seismology to detect stress changes in the earth's crust uses the information in the late part of ultrasonic signals originating from multiple reflections and scattering. Since a few years it is used by several researchers for lab experiments on concrete.
Meanwhile specialized sensors to be embedded in concrete have been developed. We have conducted several lab and a few field experiments, which will be reported here. The capabilities and limitations of CWI are summarized.
In diesem Vortrag werden hochauflösende analytische Methoden für die Untersuchungen von zementgebundenen Baustoffen vorgestellt. Zum einen werden frühe Hydratationsprozesse in situ und mit hoher Zeitauflösung untersucht und die Einflüsse von polymeren Fließmittel und Stabilisierer auf die Erstarrungsverzögerung beobachtet. Zum anderen werden Phasenübergänge unter schädigenden Angriffen im Gefügeprofil auf µm-Skala verfolgt. Die Möglichkeit die Auswirkungen der niedrigen realen Konzentrationen von schädigenden Agenten zu identifizieren stellt ein großes Potential für die Schädigungsanalyse unter realen Bedingungen dar. Insgesamt haben die vorgestelletn analytischen Techniken ein großes Potential für die Analyse der Phasenentwicklung in zementgebundenen Baustoffen.
Spatial and temporal control of thermal waves by using DMDs for interference based crack detection
(2016)
Active Thermography is a well-established non-destructive testing method and used to detect cracks, voids or material inhomogeneities. It is based on applying thermal energy to a samples’ surface whereas inner defects alter the non-stationary heat flow. Conventional excitation of a sample is hereby done spatially, either planar (e.g. using a lamp) or local (e.g. using a focused laser) and temporally, either pulsed or periodical. In this work we combine a high power laser with a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) allowing us to merge all degrees of freedom to a spatially and temporally controlled heat source. This enables us to exploit the possibilities of coherent thermal wave shaping. Exciting periodically while controlling at the same time phase and amplitude of the illumination source induces – via absorption at the sample’s surface - a defined thermal wave propagation through a sample. That means thermal waves can be controlled almost like acoustical or optical waves. However, in contrast to optical or acoustical waves, thermal waves are highly damped due to the diffusive character of the thermal heat flow and therefore limited in penetration depth in relation to the achievable resolution. Nevertheless, the coherence length of thermal waves can be chosen in the mm-range for modulation frequencies below 10 Hz which is perfectly met by DMD technology. This approach gives us the opportunity to transfer known technologies from wave shaping techniques to thermography methods. We will present experiments on spatial and temporal wave shaping, demonstrating interference based crack detection.
Mit dem KorroPad Verfahren ist es dem Anwender möglich den Zustand der Passivschicht nichtrostender Stähle auf sehr einfache und schnelle Weise einschätzen zu können. Das Verfahren eignet sich dazu, den Grad der Passivität in Abhängigkeit der Umgebungsbedingungen und der Zeit nachzuvollziehen. Dies ermöglicht dem Anwender und Verarbeiter von nichtrostenden Stählen, die Lagerungsbedingungen und –zeiten einer frisch bearbeiteten Stahloberfläche zu ermitteln, welche für die Ausbildung einer stabilen Passivschicht notwendig sind, bevor diese risikoarm eingesetzt werden kann. Wie die hier dargestellten Beispiele und auch weitere zahlreiche praktische Anwendungen gezeigt haben, eignet sich das KorroPad ebenfalls für die Identifikation kritischer Prozessparameter bei der Verarbeitung nichtrostender Stähle. Mit dem Verfahren lassen sich viele prozessbedingte Einflussfaktoren auf die Oberflächengüte wie auch auf den Werkstoff charakterisieren. Aufgrund der schnellen und einfachen Auswertung der Prüfergebnisse können positive wie auch negative Veränderungen hinsichtlich der Passivschichtstabilität zügig erkannt werden. Dies ermöglicht es dem Anwender schnell zu reagieren, um kritische Einflüsse zu korrigieren und um eine Optimierung von Inhouse-Prozessen durchzuführen. Weitere Einsatzgebiete sind im Bereich der Wareneingangs- und/oder Warenausgangskontrolle denkbar, überall wo es um die Frage der Passivschichtstabilität einer nichtrostenden Stahloberfläche geht.
Hydrogen can cause unexpected material failure under consideration of stresses (external/internal) during manufacturing, processing or service of the materials. This failure is mostly based on a certain degradation of the mechanical properties. Thus, the correlation of hydrogen trapping vs. a respective microstructure is necessary for high strength steels. Thus, the scope of this work is the improvement of existing hydrogen trap models by verification of activation energies for hydrogen traps as well as the influence of the determination method. In this scope, the thermal desorption method is appropriate to distinguish between different hydrogen traps. Nevertheless, the specimen temperature has to be accounted very carefully in case of calculating the necessary trap energy.
Coating, stabilization layers, functionalization of particles or simple contamination are common variants of a core-shell system. For smaller nanoparticles this is of major importance. A particle with 16 nm diameter and a usual surface layer of 2 nm will have the same volume for the core as for the shell. In this case the material of the particle doesn’t have a clear definition. It is a common case that a particle consists of four different layers: Core, shell, stabilization layer and contamination. The properties of the particles differ according to this structure. For example silver particles might have a different dissolution rate for pure particles and for particles which are grown on top of a core.
Different solubility or defined other properties of materials is a common reason for producing core-shell systems. Gold cores are surrounded by silica to stabilize them or to get a defined distance between the cores. Silica might be surrounded by gold and the silica dissolved afterwards. This delivers hollow shells. Another important example for core-shell systems are quantum dots. A small core is surrounded by a different material for increasing the photoluminescence. Furthermore there a stabilization layer is needed. The smallest part of the final particles is the initial core. The photoluminescence is based on this core, but the shells contain much more material. Categorization should address this.
Core-shell systems are not covered by most of the existing decision trees for grouping. They are either regarded as special case or a singular layer. This disqualifies core-shell systems for grouping within the common models. There might be a very easy way to avoid this problem and even to combine some of the different decision trees. Starting the decision tree with the solubility of the outer shell and subsequently addressing the inner layers will be a pragmatic approach to solve the problem. If there is no shell, the categorization can start with a tiered approach or with the proposed “stawman” chemical categorization. If a shell is covering the surface there is a need to check if the shell is stable. If it is stable, the particle can be categorized based on this shell. If it is soluble, the ions need to be addressed as in the classic case. Furthermore the shell might increase the uptake by the cells. If the ions and the uptake are not critical the categorization can continue with the next layer.
With this not perfect but pragmatic approach, the surface layers can be addressed with very limited additional efforts. Most criteria are based on classically tabulated data. Including a rating system like the precautionary matrix approach might even address the fact that some parameters are not always Yes/No, e.g. solubility, ion toxicity and uptake.
Influence of the of dealumination and porosity on the acid sites of natural zeolite clinoptilolite
(2016)
Heavy feedstock from crude and bio oil is a widely available and renewable resource for production of fuel and starting materials for other organic valuables by cracking or hydrocracking. Catalytic processing of heavy feedstock can meet the increased demand of energy up to a great extent. It requires the application of acidic catalysts like zeolites. However, the used synthetic catalysts are difficult to recover and reuse and are mostly spent.
The use of natural zeolite as spent catalysts may open new perspectives in the chemical use of heavy feed feedstock by chemical conversion. Natural zeolites are not expensive, widely available and environment friendly. Clinoptilolite is the most abundant natural zeolite. Clinoptilolite has a crystalline structure with a defined micropore system of medium size showing unique ion exchange and sorption properties. However, it is catalytically active only in the H-form. Also certain porosity is required for improvement of the accessibility of active sites.
This paper deals with the tuning of acid properties and of the mesoporosity of the clinoptilolite by variation of the Si/Al framework ratio, extra-framework aluminum and modification of the porosity by specific acid and water vapor treatment. The preparation of hierarchical pore structures containing interconnected micro-meso-macropores is an important factor influencing the catalytic performance.
The obtained materials have been characterized by XRD, TEM, FTIR, Raman, TG/DSC. The chemical composition has been determined by ICP-AES. The porosity have been investigated by nitrogen adsorption desorption measurements. The acidity has been measured by Ammonia-TPD. The extent of dealumination, stability of the clinoptilolite against acid treatment and the change in the nature of acid sites and their local structure has been studied by solid state 29Si and 27Al MAS NMR spectroscopy in detail. The catalytic activity has been investigated in the acetalization of benzaldehyde with 1,3-butanediol. The impact of the porosity, change of the Si/Al ratio as well as present Al species on catalytic properties will be discussed.
Mechanochemistry is a convenient way to form metal phosphonates with neutral and/or monodeprotonated phosphonates, controlled by the stoichiometric. In situ investigation of reactions helps understanding mechanisms and formation of intermediates. The knowledge of intermediates helps to find metastable structures.The diffusion mechanism is most probable for the mechanochemical synthesis of metal phosphonates.
Milling reactions often result in 100% yields of single products, making purifying procedures obsolete. Mech-anochemistry is also a sustainable and eco-friendly method. The ever increasing interest in this method is contrasted by a lack in mechanistic understanding of the mechanochemical reactivity and selectivity. Recent in situ investigations provided direct insight into formation pathways. However, the currently available theories do not predict temperature T as an influential factor. Here, we report the first determination of an activation energy for a mechanochemical reaction. In a temperature-dependent in situ study the cocrystallisation of ibuprofen and nicotinamide was investigated as a model system. These experiments provide a pivotal step towards a comprehensive understanding of milling reaction mechanisms.
CCQM has established a framework of comparisons to demonstrate the international comparability of chemical measurements. The key point is the establishment of comparable measurements, with traceability to internationally or nationally stated references. The Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) has been formally founded in 2003. CCQM ratified the group as a full working group of CCQM in April 2003 with these terms of reference:
- to develop pilot studies and carry out key comparisons of national measurement standards for surface and micro/nano-analysis;
- to assist in identifying and establishing inter-laboratory work to improve the traceability of surface and micro/nano-analysis;
- to establish and update a work plan to be adopted by CCQM;
- to discuss and review the scope of the working group and to liase with other working groups related to nanotechnology.
Following the 2015 meeting of the CCQM, the pilot study CCQM-P130 “WD and ED Electron Probe Micro Analysis on Au-Cu alloys” lead by BAM&NIST has been finalized. The Key Comparison K-129 “Measurement of atomic fractions in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Films” lead by KRISS has made substantial progress and is about to be finalized. The new Key Comparison K-136 on “BET specific surface of ” lead by UNIIM&BAM has made strong progress in 2015 and will be finished in 2016.
Charge separation in liquid droplets within a strong electric field leads to opposite directed progeny droplet jets. That phenomenon is called field induced droplet ionization (FIDI). The jets contain charged molecules, which enables a mass spectrometric analysis. Acoustic levitation of droplets has matured to a powerful tool for containerless sample handling in micro fluidic systems in order to suppress agglomeration and classic contamination pathways. Herein we present the combination of both: FIDI assisted By Ultra-Sound (FIDIBUS). Compared to FIDI, it felicitates a steady observation of a single droplet during its jet formation. Furthermore, it allows for using different shaped electrodes and a multiple droplet interrogation.
To understand the metabolic fate of food relevant mycotoxins in vitro systems were mainly used as the method of choice, so far. Yet, in recent years coupling of electrochemistry mass spectrometry (EC-MS) gained increasing importance as promising technique for fast simulation of metabolic processes and was successfully applied in particular for drug metabolism [1].
The aim of our work was to investigate the potential of EC-MS to predict phase I metabolites of priority mycotoxins and to compare the results with in vitro experiments. Hence, the EU-regulated Fusarium mycotoxins zearalenone (ZEN) and patulin as well as dihydroergocristine (DHEC) as model compound of ergot alkaloids were electrochemically oxidized and analyzed by EC MS for the first time.
Electrochemical conditions were set-up individually for each of the three mycotoxins. By using a coulometric flow through cell with a diamond working electrode oxidation of the chosen mycotoxins was observed after applying potentials between 1.7 and 2.0 V vs. Pd/H2. The electrochemically generated reaction products were analyzed online by mass-spectrometric detection.
All of the three chosen mycotoxins were electrochemically converted to mono- and/or dihydroxylated products confirming the results of ZEN related metabolism studies [2, 3] and in case of DHEC own results from in vitro assays. Due to a lack of metabolism studies concerning the oxidative fate of patulin, interpretation of EC-MS data and performing microsomal studies is of particular relevance.
Beside the identified products from electrochemical oxidation of ZEN, patulin and DHEC there is still a number of yet unknown compounds. Additional structural characterization of detected compounds by NMR and X-ray analysis will be facilitated by their large-scale production using preparative EC cells.
In this contribution the particle sizing techniques evaluated in NanoDefine are presented together with recommendations for their application/implementation on real-world materials. The experimental evaluation is discussed based on examples on NanoDefine materials. A systematic study on volume specific surface area as derived from BET measurements versus electron microscopy on powdered materials is also presented.
In recent years, elemental imaging of biological samples using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is gaining in importance. Latest improvements regarding spatial resolution (down to 1 µm) and washout time make LA-ICP-MS particularly interesting for single cell analysis.
Many current nanomaterials can serve as contrast agents in cellular or tissue imaging, drug delivery vehicles or therapeutics, whereas others can cause toxic effects. In order to evaluate nano-bio interactions, the number of nanoparticles (NPs) inside cells as well as their localisation within cellular substructures is of particular interest.
LA-ICP-MS was used to study the NP pathway from uptake, via intracellular processing up to cell division. Fibroblast cells were incubated with different metallic NPs under varying experimental conditions. For LA analysis the cells were fixed with formaldehyde and dried.
Our results show that LA-ICP-MS is able to localise NP aggregates within cellular substructures. The NPs accumulate in the perinuclear region in the course of intracellular processing, e.g. multivesicular fusion and endosomal maturation, but do not enter the nucleus [1, 2]. A strong dependence of NP uptake on concentration and incubation time was found. Additionally, the number of NPs internalized by individual cells was determined and variations within the cell population became visible.
A new laser ablation system providing a short washout time (50 ms) together with small spot sizes (< 4 µm) and high repetition rates allows high spatial resolution applications. First results of cell imaging will be shown.
The findings demonstrate the potential of LA-ICP-MS enabling insight into NP uptake and intracellular distribution dependent on experimental parameters.
Thermoresponsive polymers have shown great potential in applications such as bioseparation, drug delivery and diagnostic. Only few thermoresponsive polymers that present an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) in a relevant temperature range, i.e. phase separate from solution upon cooling, have been reported so far. Moreover, the most studied UCST type polymers namely polybetaines are difficult to use under physiological conditions, which significantly restricts their potential applications. Therefore, UCST polymers with sharp and robust phase transition in physiological conditions (in the presence of salts, ions etc.) are highly needed in order to extend the range of applications of this class of polymers. Herein, a robust UCST-type copolymer of acrylamide (AAm) and acrylonitrile (AN) (poly(AAm-co-AN)) was prepared by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and its thermo-induced aggregation behavior in aqueous media was studied. At temperature below the UCST, the copolymer chains were aggregated together. The aggregate size was found to be larger with increasing AN contents and became smaller upon dilution of the copolymer solutions. While above the UCST, the copolymer chains were expanded and weekly associated in solution. The association between the copolymer chains formed smaller aggregates with increasing the AN contents or the dilution of the solutions. A model is proposed to explain such aggregation-association behavior of the Fig. 1.
Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the proposed thermos-induced aggregation behavior of the poly(AAm-co-AN) in aqueous solution.
This lecture is an introduction to ICP-MS with a double focusing magnetic sector mass analyzer. It offers fundamental background, a thorough discussion of analytical features, and state of the art information on applications. Different types of double focusing instruments also are considered. Specific topics include fundamental aspects of ICP-MS (physical properties of a double focusing instrument, operational characteristics in comparison with quadrupole instruments); analytical characteristics (spectral and non-spectral interferences, figures of merit in low and high resolution modes, blanks and memory effects, HPLC and GC interfaces), and applications (industrial including ultra-pure reagents and alloys, environmental, geological, and biomedical materials).
The presentation gave an overview of the topic, the aims and the task allocation of the M-ERA.NET founded project named “Nanohype”.
In this project four research teams working hand in hand on computational modeling, synthesis and experimental validation to design novel metal-shelled Upconversion-NP combining plasmonic interactions.
As Ph.D. student at the BAM I am responsible for the optical characterization (measurements of lifetimes, Quantum Yields and PL emissions ) of these promising novel systems.
Analytical methods require efficient and versatile strategies to measure an increasing number of analytes that can be used in conjunction with established platforms like flow cytometry. Spectral multiplexing suffers from problems such as spectral crosstalk and often requires different excitation light sources increasing instrumentation costs. Thus, the number of distinguishable reporters with intensity-based barcodes is limited. An alternative can be lifetime encoding for discrimination of fluorophores based on their fluorescence decay kinetics.
We report on the suitability of µm-sized polymer particles stained with organic dyes for lifetime encoding. These dyes are excitable at a standard laser diode wavelength and detectable within a single spectral window. For lifetime-based discrimination, these dyes display sufficiently different luminescence decay kinetics. We present the spectroscopic properties of these beads and address challenges like the limited number of detectable photons in a flow for the reliable discrimination. These studies are expected to pave the road to new applications of fluorescence lifetime multiplexing for time-domain flow cytometry.
Photoluminescence techniques are amongst the most widely used tools in the material and life sciences, with new and exciting applications continuously emerging, due to their many advantages like comparative ease of use, unique sensitivity, non-invasive character, and potential for multiplexing, remote sensing, and miniaturization. Drawbacks are , however, signals, that contain unwanted wavelength- and polarization contributions from instrument-dependent effects, which are time-dependent due to the aging of instrument components, and difficulties to measure absolute fluorescence intensities. Thus, there is a considerable need for standards for intensity, spectral, and temporal fluorescence quantities to meet the increasing need for instrument performance validation and global trends to harmonize physicochemical measurements. In this respect, instrument calibration strategies together with different types of fluorescence standards are presented as well as design concepts for robust, easy-to-use, and format-adaptable fluorescence standards useable for the determination of different fluorescence parameters and a broad variety of fluorescence techniques.
Permeability estimation from spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements is based on a fundamental premise that the characteristic relaxation time (t) is related to the effective hydraulic radius (reff) controlling fluid flow. The approach requires a reliable estimate of the diffusion coefficient of the ions in the electrical double layer. Others have assumed a value for the diffusion coefficient, or postulated different values for clay versus clay-free rocks. We examine the link between t and reff for an extensive database of sandstone sampleswhere mercury porosimetry data confirm that reff is reliably determined from a modification of the Hagen-Poiseuille equation assuming that the electrical tortuosity is equal to the hydraulic tortuosity. Our database does not support the existence of 1 or 2 distinct representative diffusion coefficients but instead demonstrates strong evidence for 6 orders of magnitude of variation in an apparent diffusion coefficient that is well correlated with both reff and the specific surface area per unit pore volume (Spor). Two scenarios can explain our findings: (1) the length-scale defined by t is not equal to reff and is likely much longer due to the control of pore surface roughness; (2) the range of diffusion coefficients is large and likely determined by the relative proportions of the different minerals (e.g. silica, clays) making up the rock. In either case, the estimation of reff (and hence permeability) is inherently uncertain from SIP relaxation time.
Zur Bestimmung des Feuchtezustands und insbesondere der Belegereife von Estrichfußböden kommen in Deutschland zerstörende Prüfverfahren zum Einsatz, die eine punktuelle Probenahme erfordern. Hierbei ergeben sich immer wieder Fehlinterpretationen, da zum einen die Probenahme selbst zu einer Veränderung des Feuchtezustands führt und zum anderen, weil die Verfahren an sich mitunter ungenau sind (z.B. abhängig von der Estrichzusammensetzung). Zusammen mit vier Forschungsinstituten und dem Industriepartner Bosch wurden an der BAM zerstörungsfreie Prüfverfahren auf deren Tauglichkeit zur Estrichfeuchtemessung untersucht und mit den herkömmlichen zerstörenden Verfahren verglichen.
Für diesen Versuch kamen verschiedene geophysikalische Verfahren zum Einsatz, darunter Nuklear Magnetische Resonanz (NMR), elektrische Widerstandsmessungen und Impulsradar (GPR). Es wurden neun verschiedene Estrichsorten hergestellt und während der Trocknungsphase bei Konstant-Normklima gelagert. Diese wurden sowohl zerstörend als auch zerstörungsfrei mit den o. g. Verfahren untersucht. Gleichzeitig wurden die Masseänderungen der Proben zur Bestimmung des integralen Feuchtehalts aufgezeichnet.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen zum einen, dass das Abtrocknungsverhalten von zementgebundenen Estrichen grundsätzlich unterschiedlich von dem anhydritgebundener Estriche ist. Während sich bei ersteren zügig ein deutlicher Feuchtegradient über die Höhe der Proben einstellt, verläuft dieser bei der zweiten Probengruppe sehr flach. Dies lässt sich vor allem in den NMR Daten räumlich hochaufgelöst nachvollziehen - die Datenakquise erfolgte mit einer NMR MOUSE PM 25. Ein ähnliches Bild ergibt sich auch aus den elektrischen Widerstandsmessungen, die mittels sog. Multi-Ring-Elektroden (MRE) durchgeführt wurden. MRE bezeichnen als Vertikalprofil angeordnete Ringelektroden mit einem Abstand von ca. 1-2 mm, zwischen denen jeweils Zwei-Punkt Widerstandsmessungen durchgeführt werden. Bei sehr geringen Feuchtegehalten (z.T. auch um die Belegereife) waren mit dieser Methode jedoch wegen der zu hohen Übergangswiderstände nur bedingt Messungen möglich. Im Gegensatz zu NMR und MRE sind mit dem Radarverfahren (2 GHz Antenne) keine tiefenbezogenen Aussagen möglich. Jedoch lässt sich über eine Amplitudenauswertung von direkter und an der Rückwand reflektierter Welle teilweise eine Aussage über Restfeuchtigkeit im Volumen treffen. Ebenso zeigt die Laufzeitdifferenz der beiden Wellen eine starke Abhängigkeit vom Feuchtegehalt.
In Germany there is an existing built infrastructure worth about 50 trillion Euros. The expected lifetimes of individual structures are up to 100 years. Considerable costs (annually about 35 billion Euros, the trend continues upwards) are involved in order to maintain and rehabilitate both residential as well as transportation infrastructure buildings. Most damages we observe on our built infrastructure are moisture-induced processes. Consequently reliable moisture measurement tools a highly needed for meaningful building diagnosis investigations. The optimal moisture measuring technique would be non-destructive, fast, repeatable, reliable, independent of steel in the vicinity, the surface condition or possible salt loads of the material under test. Since this is unfortunately not the case for any non-destructive method, it is often very difficult to decide for users which method to use for the particular testing problem. The only standardized methods in Germany are the “direct” and destructive Darr- and the CM tests. Although they can be highly accurate (when handled with care during the sampling), they deliver only punctual information and cannot be used for monitoring. The other, non-destructive methods are based on the change in humidity-dependent physical material properties. The underlying physics, their particular advantages and disadvantages are discussed in this paper.
The surface chemistry / functionalization of nanomaterials and microparticles largely controls the stability of these materials as well as their solubility and subsequent biofunctionalization and their interactions with biological systems. Moreover, in the case of some nanomaterials like semiconductor quantum dots or lanthanide-based upconversion nanocrystals, the ligand shell strongly affects their optical properties, e.g., via passivation of surface states and traps that favor luminescence quenching or the protection of surface atoms from quenching water molecules. This renders analytical methods for the quantification of surface groups like functionalities very important. Targets of broad interest are here amino, carboxyl, alkine and maleimide groups used for common bioconjugation reactions and typical ligands like thiols and polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules of varying length, used for the tuning of material hydrophilicity and biocompatibility, minimization of unspecific interactions, prevention of biofouling, and enhancement of blood circulation times as well as surface-bound biomolecules like streptavidin or other biomolecules relevant e.g., for diagnostic assays. Here, we focus on simple optical methods relying on standard laboratory instrumentation, validated by method comparison and/or mass balances and present examples for their use for the characterization of different types of nanomaterials and microparticles.
Luminescence-based detection methods, ranging from fluorescence spectroscopy for photophysical and mechanistic studies over sensing applications, chromatographic separation techniques and the microarray technology with fluorescence detection to fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, single molecule spectroscopy, and molecular imaging to integrating sphere spectroscopy, are among the most widely used methods in the life and material sciences. This is due to e.g., their unique sensitivity enabling the detection of single molecules, potential for multiplexing, ease of combination with spatial resolution, and suitability for remote sensing. Many of these advantages are closely linked to the choice of suitable molecular and nanoscale fluorescent reporters, typically required for signal generation. This includes organic dyes without and with sensor function, fluorophore-encoded polymeric and silica nanoparticles as well as nanocrystalline systems like semiconductor quantum dots and upconversion phosphors, emitting in the visible (vis), near-infrared (NIR), and IR (infrared). Current challenges present the environment sensitivity of most fluorophores, rendering fluorescence spectra, measured intensities/fluorescence quantum yields, and fluorescence decay kinetics matrix-dependent, and instrument-specific distortions of measured fluorescence signals that need to be considered for quantification and comparability of data, particularly fluorescence spectra.
Here, current applications of luminescence-based methods and different types of reporters will be presented. In this context, suitable spectroscopic tools for the characteri-zation of the optical properties of fluorescent reporters and fluorophore-encoded microparticles, analytical tools for the determination of the surface chemistry of different types of particles, and different multiplexing strategies will be discussed.
The reliability of wheel set axle testing is of high importance because small discontinuities caused during manufacturing or rock fall impacts during operation might cause growing cracks during the operation load cycles. While most of the axles are tested by automated UT-systems today, the basic education of railway NDT operators is still manual testing providing the basic understanding and skills for the operators. In Germany it is a common rule that NDT operators in the railway branch need to refresh their knowledge and skills every five years including a refresh examination. The testing results from these exercises and from a parallel round robin test have been sampled at the DGZfP Railway Education Centre in Wittenberge for a period of about 5 years. The results of the operators written in test record sheets were compared with the “true” test crack or notch position in the axles used for examination. In this way the testing results could be categorized into “hits” and “misses” and the “hits” were further evaluated due to correct position and adequate amplitude height. Considering some thousand indications documented by the operators during the refresh examination and comparing transition bow, shaft and seat it was a highlight to see that the operators reach their best detection rate in the transition bow of the wheel axle set while this is often the most difficult part concerning the UT-echoes. Fortunately this is due to their raised awareness in the transition bow region because this is the most dangerous region with respect to fracture mechanics.
For two selected axles the experimental set up of 45° and 70° inward and outward UT-testing were also simulated showing clearly the difficulties of the UT-echoes detection of some specific test defects.
In the last two decades automated ultrasonic inspection devices took over a lot of applications that prior have been carried out using manual inspection with the evaluation of A-scans only. In parallel phased array systems have been developed and brought to the market which offer detailed and fast control over the sound field. When applying automated inspection phased array systems for UT measurements imaging of the recorded data in combination with the probe positioning data is used for the evaluation of inspections. B-Scan, C-Scan and S-Scan images are typically used with this setup.
For more sophisticated applications with linear arrays echo tomography and syntethic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) are well known methods and often applied for high resolution image reconstruction. Since channel count of phased array systems is constantly rising, matrix arrays with up to 256 elements entered the market. Signal processing in the matrix domain became 3D. Since some years the Total Focusing Method (TFM) is an additional imaging tool for these type of application. It is based on the Full Matrix Capture (FMC) using the elements of phased array probes as separate transmitters and receivers.
In this contribution we discuss the common ground of SAFT and TFM as well as the differences between these imaging tools. The combined use of automated inspection, matrix arrays and signal processing for high resolution measurements is a challenging task where a very long parameter list has to be taken into account. Under which conditions which elements of the full matrix should be taken for the reconstruction for best results?
Based on examples taken from measured and simulated echo signals it will be shown how image resolution can be optimized in dependence of different parameters like the distance between transmitters and receivers and their directivity patterns, the depth of echo source and the specimen geometry.
Ray tracing boudary value problems: simulation and SAFT reconstruction for ultrasonic testing
(2016)
The application of advanced imaging techniques for the ultrasonic inspection of inhomogeneous anisotropic materials like austenitic and dissimilar welds requires information about acoustic wave propagation through the material, in particular travel times between two points in the material. Forward ray tracing is a popular approach to determine traveling paths and arrival times but is ill suited for inverse problems since a large number of rays have to be computed in order to arrive at prescribed end points. In this contribution we discuss boundary value problems for acoustic rays, where the ray path between two given points is determined by solving the eikonal equation. The implementation of such a two point boundary value ray tracer for sound field simulations through an austenitic weld is described and its efficiency as well as the obtained results are compared to those of a forward ray tracer. The results are validated by comparison with experimental results and commercially available UT simulation tools. As an application, we discuss an implementation of the method for SAFT (Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique) reconstruction. The ray tracer calculates the required travel time through the anisotropic columnar grain structure of the austenitic weld. There, the formulation of ray tracing as a boundary value problem allows a straightforward derivation of the ray path from a given transducer position to any pixel in the reconstruction area and reduces the computational cost considerably.
Quantification of rock structures with high resolution X-Ray μ-CT for laboratory SIP measurements
(2016)
Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) measurements are used in many different ways to characterize natural rocks and soils. Main foci of interest are the enhanced characterization of the causes of IP-effects in clastic rocks (especially sandstones), the interactions between the matrix-fluid-system and within the electrical double layers as well as the correlation with “classical” petrophysical parameters, such as specific surface area, permeability, mercury intrusion capillary pressure (MICP) and others. Nevertheless, for all of these investigations, knowledge of the inner structure of the sample material is essential in order to create reliable and validated models as well as to interpret and to assess the data most completely. Unfortunately, many of the methods used, to get access to the inner structure of rocks are destructive (e.g. MICP, thin sectioning, etc.) and the valuable sample is lost. In addition, data is either of volume integrated nature or only available for the 2D case and the usage of sister cores does not necessarily lead to reliable results. In this paper, the authors showcase the possibilities of non-destructive and three dimensional X-ray computed tomography and of enhanced image analysis capabilities for the quantification of rock structures at the pore scale.
Permeability estimation from spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements is based on a fundamental premise that the characteristic relaxation time (t) is related to the effective hydraulic radius (reff) controlling fluid flow. The approach requires a reliable estimate of the diffusion coefficient of the ions in the electrical double layer. Others have assumed a value for the diffusion coefficient, or postulated different values for clay versus clay-free rocks. We examine the link between t and reff for an extensive database of sandstone samples where mercury porosimetry data confirm that reff is reliably determined from a modification of the Hagen-Poiseuille equation assuming that the electrical tortuosity is equal to the hydraulic tortuosity. Our database does not support the existence of 1 or 2 distinct representative diffusion coefficients but instead demonstrates strong evidence for 6 orders of magnitude of variation in an apparent diffusion coefficient that is well correlated with both reff and the specific surface area per unit pore volume (Spor). Two scenarios can explain our findings: (1) the length-scale defined by t is not equal to reff and is likely much longer due to the control of pore surface roughness; (2) the range of diffusion coefficients is large and likely determined by the relative proportions of the different minerals (e.g. silica, clays) making up the rock. In either case, the estimation of reff (and hence permeability) is inherently uncertain from SIP relaxation time.
Moisture measurement methods
(2016)
Moisture can cause imperfect sealings, faulty roof constructions, cracks and other kind of damages. For measuring the moisture in construction materials like concrete and screed, there are destructive(direct) and non-destructive(indirect) methods, that can be used. This presentation gives an overview and a comparison of these methods.
Die regelmäßige Überprüfung von Eisenbahnradsatzwellen auf betriebsbedingte Schädigungen ist ein fester Bestandteil des Instandhaltungskonzeptes von Eisenbahnfahrzeugen. Insbesondere bei hohen Achslasten und hohen Rotationsgeschwindigkeiten ist eine detaillierte regelmäßige Prüfung notwendig. In den letzten Jahren wurden für diese Prüfaufgabe mechanisierte Ultraschallprüfsysteme entwickelt, erfolgreich eingeführt und etabliert. Für eine Weiterentwicklung dieser Technologie stehen die Themen Erhöhung der Auflösung, Reduzierung von Oberflächen- und Störeinflüssen, Verkürzung von Prüfzeiten, Verbesserung der POD, Verlängerung von Inspektionsintervallen, Vereinfachung der Auswertung und die Möglichkeit der Durchführung von Analyseprüfungen im Vordergrund. Es werden Ansätze und neue Konzepte zur Lösung dieser Herausforderungen vorgestellt.
Der einwandfreie Zustand der Radsätze von Schienenfahrzeugen ist von größter Bedeutung für den sicheren Betrieb. Die Radsatzwellen werden durch eine große Zahl von Lastwechseln individuell unterschiedlich beansprucht. Dabei spielen viele Einflüsse wie äußere statische und dynamische Lasten, innere Lasten aufgrund von Unwuchten und inneren Spannungen und Umweltbedingungen entscheidende Rollen. Eine regelmäßige Prüfung ist daher obligatorisch. BTD entwickelt im Rahmen eines MNPQ-Projektes in Kooperation mit der BAM eine Phased Array Technik zur automatisierten Prüfung von Radsatzwellen im eingebauten Zustand. Die schwierigen Ankoppelbedingungen aufgrund der begrenzten Zugänglichkeit, der komplexen Geometrie sowie Farbschichten und Schmutz auf der Radsatzwelle stellen hierbei große Herausforderungen dar. Zu deren Bewältigung werden neben optimierten Prüfköpfen, einer in die Wasservorlaufstrecke integrierten akustischen Linse und einer speziellen Ankoppeltechnik auch Signalverarbeitungsalgorithmen eingesetzt. Die Darstellung der Signalverarbeitung ist der Schwerpunkt dieses Beitrages. Mit Hilfe von Messdatensätzen präparierter Testwellen werden verschiedene Algorithmen erprobt und hinsichtlich der Stabilität, dem Verhalten bezüglich der Ankoppelschwankungen und veränderter Wellengeometrien und der Fähigkeit zur automatischen Unterscheidung von Fehler- und Formanzeigen bewertet. Letztlich wird die beste Lösung im entwickelten Prüfsystem eingesetzt.
Der Einsatz moderner Prozessanalysentechnik führt zu einer Datenflut, deren Verarbeitung und Nutzung häufig nicht ohne den Einsatz von Chemometrie zu realisieren ist. Dafür stehen zahlreiche multivariate Verfahren, wie z.B. Hauptkomponentenanalyse (PCA) und Regressionsanalyse (PLSR) für die Klassifizierung und für die quantitative Analyse zur Verfügung. Darüber hinaus können in Spezialfällen, insbesondere in der Spektroskopie, Methoden des „Indirect Hard Modeling“ eingesetzt werden. Anhand einer Industrie-relevanten Reaktion, der Hydroformylierungsreaktion zur Bildung langkettiger Aldehyde aus der Reaktion von Alkenen und Synthesegas, die sowohl im Labormaßstab als auch in einer Miniplant in Kooperation mit der TU Berlin untersucht wurde, werden Kalibrationsstrategien (Design of Experiment, DoE) und Auswertungsansätze mittels PLSR prozessbegleitender Raman Spektren dargelegt. Auf Grundlage des chemometrischen Ansatzes ist eine on-line Überwachung der Reaktion hinsichtlich der Hauptreaktanden, 1-Dodecene und 1-Tridecanal, möglich. Weiterhin konnte mittels Raman Spektroskopie die Bildung eines unerwünschten Nebenprodukts nachgewiesen werden.
A round robin test on flash thermography was organized within the scope of a standardization research project. This test gives information on reliability, comparability and efficiency of different testing situations. Data recorded on metal and CFRP test specimens with flat bottom holes (FBH) were analysed by evaluating the detectability and by calculating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the defect signatures as a function of defect parameters. For the investigation of the influence of material properties on the spatial resolution as well as on penetration depth, test specimens made of steel and copper with crossed notches and a notch ramp were constructed and investigated. Here, the minimum resolvable notch distance and the maximum detectable depth of the ramp were analysed.
Novel air-coupled ultrasonic transducer combining the thermoacoustic with the piezoelectric effect
(2016)
In recent years, there has been an increasing industrial demand for one-sided inspection of various structures by means of air-coupled ultrasonic technique. Lightweight structures based on carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers may have very complex shapes, making air-coupled transmission difficult or even impossible. The inspection of concrete structures is another example where one-sided inspection is required.
To address these challenges a new type of transducer for air-coupled pulse-echo inspection was developed, which unites two principles: thermoacoustic emission and piezoelectric reception. The thermoacoustic emitter is a titanium electrode with a thickness of several tens of nanometer. This electrode was deposited onto charged cellular polypropylene, which serves as a piezoelectric receiver. The thermoacoustic transmission is based on a transformation of the thermal energy of an electrically heated electrode into the acoustic energy of an ultrasonic wave. Thermoacoustic emitters provide resonance-free behaviour and thus extremely broadband pulses. Charged cellular polypropylene is piezoelectric due to the polarization of its cells and it is well matched to air, with a Young modulus in the order of magnitude of MPa. In this contribution we present some pulse-echo measurements with the first prototypes of the combined thermoacoustic-piezoelectric transducer.
Dual orthogonal functionality in a single material is highly desirable in many fields such as bio-imaging, sensing, coating or diagnostic and therapy. However, combining two different functionalities in a precise and controlled way is still a challenging task.
Here we present how simply dual functional hybrid nanoparticles consisting of a silica core with a fluorescent and a thermoresponsive polymeric layers can be prepared. As a first step of this work, silica core particles were coated by a fluorescent layer using surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Afterwards, the fluorescent silica nanoparticles were completely enclosed in a switchable protective coating made of thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). The thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) changes its properties with varying the surroundings temperature and this behavior is reversible and controllable. To the best of our knowledge these types of hybrid dual functional core-shell-shell nanoparticles have not yet been prepared, despite the prospect of many potential applications.
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) represents the mostly widespread method available in analytical laboratories dedicated to the characterization of physical properties such as morphology of various solid materials from ‘micro-’ down to the nanometre scale. The use of secondary electrons excited by a sharply, nm-focussed primary electron beam enables at any modern SEM to image objects with high in-depth and lateral sensitivity, i.e. with high spatial resolution. Hence, e. g. nanoparticles (NPs) are able to be easily characterized with respect to their individual size and shape, but also to the morphology of their surface.
By preparing the nano-objects on thin membranes as electron transparent samples it is possible to perform electron microscopy in the transmission mode (TEM and TSEM). The corresponding transmission (i.e. mass-thickness) contrast reveals in-depth information, but is also well suited for dimensional measurements in the 2D projection image. Both the surface sensitive mode and the transmission one are meanwhile available at any modern SEM. If an X-ray spectrometer is attached to an electron microscope, it is possible to analyse the characteristic X-rays induced by electron bombardment. Most electron microscopes have attached an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) so that EDX elemental maps can be carried out. Recent technological developments of high throughput EDS detectors and their advantages regarding high-resolution X-ray analysis down to the nm range are reviewed.
High-resolution micrographs (SEM, TSEM, TEM) and corresponding X-ray elemental maps on various representative nanoparticles, but also layered samples prepared in cross-section, will be presented and discussed. The importance of selecting the best suited analysis conditions will be highlighted. Also other, often challenging, topics such as sample preparation and image data processing will be critically addressed by practical examples. Further analytical techniques able to be employed at an electron microscope, like cathodoluminescence (CL) or micro-X-ray fluorescence (µXRF) will be briefly surveyed.