SEM is a useful technique in the study of both the natural sorbent morphology and its modification derived from sorbate interactions. SEM is an electron microscope, which provides images of the sample surface by scanning it with a high-energy beam of electrons. The electron interactions with the atoms of the sample produce signals that contain information about topography, morphology, and composition of the sample surface. The samples must be electrically conductive, at least on their surface, for conventional SEM imaging. Nonconductive samples are coated with an ultra-thin layer of electrically — conducting material; this coating prevents the accumulation of static electric charges on the sample surface during electron irradiation. Magnification of the imaging can be controlled over a range of up to 6 orders of magnitude from about x25 to 250,000 times. When coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), the atom concentrations on the sorbent surface can be determined. This enables the confirmation of a mechanism of ion exchange, generally investigated by determining the concentration of alkaline and alkaline-earth metal ions released from the sorbent after metal sorption.