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SEM/EDS as Complementary Techniques to XRD and XRF for Structural Determination of Particulate Matter Pollution

environmental effects. Fine particulates with diameters less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) are of greater concern because they can penetrate deep into the lung, irritate and corrode the alveolar wall, and consequently impair lung function and cause damage to the respiratory system. Because of their large surface area, fine particles are more capable of carrying various toxic materials that can reach the end of the respiratory tract and even get into the bloodstream, causing extensive damage and increasing the risk of cancer, respiratory, cardiovascular, and ischemic heart diseases[1-5]. Anthropogenic sources such as traffic emissions will potentially be more harmful, not only because of their size, but also because of their chemical compositions. Therefore, determination of the PM chemical composition is necessary in order to identify their structure and sources. X–ray fluorescence (XRF) is a commonly used technique for the identification of the PM elemental composition, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) is used to determine crystallographic phases present in the airborne PM. The later cannot detect trace, amorphous or organic phases. Therefore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) combined with elemental mapping can complement results obtained by both XRF and XRD. In this work, we present some examples of how SEM/EDS measurements complement XRD and XRF results.