Epoxy resins

We have provided information which present the results from various measurements on the commonly used resins, together with comments on their suitability and advice on sample preparation.

The withdrawal of the Ciba-Geigy resin Araldite MY 778 and Hardener HY 951 from the market in 2007 required us to re-look at the most suitable epoxy resins to use for Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) analysis.

Suppliers

Over 90% of the samples studied by the facility are embedded in, or mounted with, one of the commonly available resins. Ideally, these resins should have a low viscosity, set quickly, set hard, be compatible at high vacuum and contain no element that will compromise the SIMS chemical or isotopic analysis. In addition, they should be suitable for petrological study, imaging (e.g. cathodoluminescence (CL), backscatter electron (BSE)) and electron micro-probe analysis (EPMA).

We have provided information which present the results from various measurements on the commonly used resins, together with comments on their suitability and advice on sample preparation.

Any additional information or comments concerning these, or other epoxy resins are welcome and should be addressed to the Ion-Microprobe Facility.

Epoxy Resins Tested

Buehler:

  • EpoThin
  • EpoHeat
  • EpoxiCure
  • TransOptic (not an epoxy resin, but a fine-grained thermoplastic)
  • ProbeMet (not an epoxy resin, but an epoxy mounting compound with copper filler)
  • KonductoMet (not an epoxy resin, but a Phenolic mounting compound with graphite filler)

Struers:

  • SpeciFix-20
  • EpoFix

Others:

  • Ciba Geigy MY 778 & HY 951
  • Robnor Resins PX771c (previously CY1301 & HY1300)
  • Korapox 439
  • Domestic Rapid-set Araldite (Partial Tests Only)
  • Domestic Araldite (Partial Tests Only)
  • Varian Torr Seal (Partial Tests Only)
  • Petropoxy

Resin preparation recipes

We have provided sample resin preparation procedures for your reference.

Testing and results

We recommend the use of EpoxiCure, SpeciFix-20 or EpoFix for SIMS analysis.

Suppliers information

We have gathered information from respective supplier web sites, data sheets and catalogues.

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