Nonaqueous suspensions in total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis of solids

It has been suggested to use suspensions of solid samples in viscous liquids for the determination of the elemental composition by the total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TRXF) method. Two liquids—ethylene glycol and glycerol—have been studied as a dispersion phase. It turned out that the sedimentation stability of suspensions in these liquids is higher than in water. During 5 min of sedimentation, the suspended analyte concentration changes by 10–15 rel. % in nonaqueous media and by up to 50 rel. % in aqueous media. It has been determined that the repeatability of measurements in nonaqueous suspensions is 3–5 rel. % against 10–15 rel. % for aqueous suspensions. It has been demonstrated that ethylene glycol and glycerol can be efficiently used for preparing samples for the TRXF method.