Article
Article
X-ray fluorescence analysis
Article By:
Mantler, Michael Technical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Last reviewed:December 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.750700
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- X-ray fluorescence analysis, published January 2014:Download PDF
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A nondestructive physical method used for chemical elemental analysis of materials in a liquid or solid state, including powders and layered materials. During X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, a specimen is irradiated by photons of sufficient energy to cause the specimen's elements to emit (fluoresce) their characteristic x-ray line spectra. A detection system allows for the determination of the energies of the emitted lines and their intensities (Fig. 1). An X-ray spectrometer identifies elements in the specimen by their unique spectral line energies and/or wavelengths for qualitative analysis, with the intensities related to the elements' concentrations for quantitative analysis. See also: Chemical element; Fluorescence; Photon; Spectroscopy; X-ray spectrometry; X-ray
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