Analysis of rocks by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XFS) (CAT#: STEM-ST-0190-WXH)

Introduction

The chemical compositions of rocks are used to solve numerous geological problems, including crystallization history of igneous bodies such as granite or basalt, processes of formation of the sea floor, nature of chemical weathering in various climates, stratigraphic correlation of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, processes of ore generation, and many others. Most rocks are composed primarily of silicate minerals, and over 90% of the composition of most silicate rocks can be characterized by oxides of Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na and K. Minor and trace elements present in rocks include practically every other element, many of which are especially useful for geochemical modelling of geological processes.

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Principle Applications Procedure Materials Notes Related Products

Principle

XRF describes the process where some high-energy radiation excites atoms by shooting out electrons from the innermost orbitals. When the atom relaxes, that is, when outer electrons fill inner shells, X-Ray fluorescence radiation is emitted.

Applications

XRF is widely used as a fast characterization tool in many analytical labs across the world, for applications as diverse as metallurgy, forensics, polymers, electronics, archaeology, environmental analysis, geology and mining.

Procedure

1. Primary X-rays knock out an electron from one of the orbitals surrounding the nucleus within an atom of the material.
2. A hole is produced in the orbital, resulting in a high energy, unstable configuration for the atom.
3. To restore equilibrium, an electron from a higher energy, outer orbital falls into the hole. Since this is a lower energy position, the excess energy is emitted in the form of fluorescent X-rays.
The energy difference between the expelled and replacement electrons is characteristic of the element atom in which the fluorescence process is occurring – thus, the energy of the emitted fluorescent X-ray is directly linked to a specific element being analyzed.

Materials

XRF spectrometer (including X-ray source, sample chamber, analysing crystal, detector and signal processing computer)

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