Powder dilution as a new method of elimination of interelement effects in energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis

Summary If the concentration of elements with Z>22 (Ti) is to be determined in mineral samples and if the concentration of any of these elements is greater than 1%, the sample is diluted by grinding it together with an appropriate amount of quartz powder in an agate mortar mill. The diluted sample is measured in powdered form in a spectro-cup at practically infinite thickness by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence; the counting rates are corrected by means of the Compton scattering peak and evaluated by use of calibration curves obtained by measuring standards on the basis of silica gel. The applicability of this method is established by measuring the concentrations of 12 elements with Z>22 in 14 mineral samples of varying composition.We thank the Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie for financial support and the Uranerzbergbau GmbH, Bonn, for supplying the mineral samples.