SEM–EDX—a useful tool for forensic examinations

There are two main aims of forensic examination of the physical evidences. The first aim is comparison of the evidence with the reference material (called discrimination). The task is to find out whether they could have come from the same object. The second aim, when there is no comparative material available, is a classification of the evidence sample into a group of objects taking into account its specific chemical and physical properties. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDX) is a powerful tool for forensic scientists to classify and discriminate evidence material because they can simultaneously examine the morphology and the elemental composition of objects. Moreover, the obtained results could be enhanced using some methods of chemometric analysis. A few examples of problems related to the classification and discrimination of selected types of microtraces are presented.