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ESEM-EDS Investigation of the Weathering of a Heritage Sydney Sandstone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2010

Kin Hong Ip ,
Barbara Stuart ,
Abhi Ray  and
Paul Thomas
Kin Hong Ip
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Forensic Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia
Barbara Stuart*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Forensic Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia
Abhi Ray
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Forensic Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia
Paul Thomas
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Forensic Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: Barbara.Stuart@uts.edu.au
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Abstract

The degradation of Sydney sandstone used to build the heritage St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, has been investigated using environmental scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. This technique provided the structural details of the cementing clay and an elemental characterization the sandstone. The observed differences in the elemental composition of the unweathered and weathered sandstones were associated with changes to the clay microstructure upon weathering. The results support the substitution theory that Fe3+ replaces Al3+ in the kaolinite clay component upon weathering. An examination of the impurities present prior to a nonstructural iron removal treatment revealed the presence of minerals that may provide a source of the elements responsible for the substitution process.

Keywords

sandstoneclaykaoliniteweatheringenvironmental scanning electron microscopyenergy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Type
Material Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , April 2011 , pp. 292 - 295
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2011

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References

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