Analysis of tungsten carbides by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

Five sample presentation techniques were examined for the X-ray fluorescence spectrometric analysis of tungsten carbide alloys in powder and cemented forms. Powder samples may be oxidized by air at 600° before fusion (I), or preferably by lithium nitrate during fusion (II); the fusion is effected with lithium-lanthanum tetraborate followed by briquetting with graphite. Powder samples may also be blended with wax and briquetted (III). Cemented carbides are surface-prepared with silicon carbide before analysis (V). Briquettes prepared by blending carbide powder, lithium-lanthanum tetraborate and graphite (IV), give poor reproducibility, however, owing to micro-absorption effects the technique is not recommended. The determination of eight common elements in tungsten carbide is discussed and the relative standard deviations are 0.002–0.004 for major and 0.008–0.01 for minor elements.