Investigation of the properties of food-grade stainless steel using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDS)

Abstract

In this project, food-grade stainless steel from the chef knife will be tested for investigating its properties by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) & Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDS).The aims of this project are to provide advice for consumers when they choose a knife made from stainless steel for cooking purposes. The tested subjects are expected to use stainless steel as the material for manufacturing the blade of the knife. However, most of the products only indicates the blades are using stainless steel, the grade of the stainless steel is unknown. Hence the customers’ expectation of these knives can be different. Three chef knives with three different manufacturers were bought from the market. By using SEM, we can have a better understanding of the microstructure of those knives, and by that, we can have a more accurate prediction about the behavior of the knife during regular domestic use. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) is also used to investigate the chemical components of the tested sample, by doing EDS, the grade of stainless steel used to manufacture those knives can be known, and so do the quality of the knife.