Precise,non-destructive determination of fluorine by 14-MeV neutron activation analysis

A procedure is described for the precise determination of fluorine in organic and metal-organic compounds by 14-MeV neutron activation analysis using the reaction: ¹⁹F(n,2n)¹⁸F (β +, t_{$\text{1}\text{2}$} = 110 min).A relative standard deviation of better than ±0.5% is achieved by irradiating samples and standard simultaneously. Uniform neutron exposures were ensured by rotating the samples during irradiation. Positron emitters of short half-life are allowed to decay before counting. In metal-organic compounds, Sc, Zn, Ga and Ag cause the most serious interference; for organic compounds the method is rapid, and specific for fluorine.