Surface and bulk chemical analysis on metal aerosols generated by manual metal arc welding of stainless steel

Abstract A scanning Auger electron spectroscope and an energy dispersive X-ray analyser were used to compare surface and bulk elemental concentrations of metal aerosols generated by manual metal arc welding of stainless steel. The good lateral resolution of both techniques was utilized by analysing not only the large area sample, but also two different particle populations. The argon ion sputtering in conjunction with Auger electron analysis facilitated the depth profiling of the elements in the particles. Light elements, such as K, Na, Si, F and O, predominated in the first surface atomic layers of the particles. The metals Cr, Ni and Fe were typically located below surface layers of a few nanometers and seemed to be concentrated in large slag-like particles. The sputtering of the samples also revealed that the growth mechanism of the particles depends roughly on the vapour pressures of the elements.