| Professional Committee of Rock and Mineral Testing Technology of the Geological Society of China, National Geological Experiment and Testing Center | Host |
| Citation: |
YUAN Jing, LI Yingchun, TAN Guili, HUANG Haibo, ZHANG Hua, LIU Jiao. Some Difficulties and Status in the Application of X-Ray Spectrometry in Geological Analysis: A Review[J]. Rock and Mineral Analysis, 2025, 44(2): 161-173. doi: 10.15898/j.ykcs.202403150052
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Some Difficulties and Status in the Application of X-Ray Spectrometry in Geological Analysis: A Review
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Abstract
X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) has become one of the widely used methods for main and trace elements analysis in geological samples, due to its characteristics of non-destructive, fast, environmentally-friendly and high analytical precision. Currently, XRF can qualitatively and quantitatively analyze most of the major and trace elements (4Be−92U, especially 10Na−92U) with the concentration ranges from μg/g to percent. However, there are still some difficulties in practical analysis of geological samples with XRF due to the complexity and diversity of mineral composition, physical structural characteristics (e.g. size, shape, delamination and inclusions) and chemical composition (e.g. elemental composition, chemical morphology) of geological samples. This paper elaborates difficulties and corresponding possible solutions of XRF analysis in geological samples from five aspects including small size samples or precious samples analysis, the application of scattering effect, the analysis of volatile elements, variable valence elements and rare metals. Finally, the limitations and challenges of the XRF technique that still exist in the geological analysis are presented. The BRIEF REPORT is available for this paper at
http://www.ykcs.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.15898/j.ykcs.202403150052 . -
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References
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YUAN Jing, LI Yingchun, TAN Guili, HUANG Haibo, ZHANG Hua, LIU Jiao. Some Difficulties and Status in the Application of X-Ray Spectrometry in Geological Analysis: A Review[J]. Rock and Mineral Analysis, 2025, 44(2): 161-173. doi: 10.15898/j.ykcs.202403150052
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Figure 1.
(a) Schematic diagram of process to place the mixture powder in a Pt crucible for preparation of a micro glass bead specimen; (b) Top-view photograph of the micro glass bead (approximately 3.5mm diameter) after mounting on the 35mm glass bead blank using silicone polymer adhesive; (c) Comparison of the two available analytical surfaces of the micro glass bead attached on the 35mm glass bead blank: (1) Flat-surface and (2) Hemispherical-surface. Modified from the reference［16］.
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Figure 2.
Calibration curve for the Compton-to-Rayleigh intensity ratio (ICo/IRa) versus mean atomic number (Z) for an excitation with a Rhodium anode X-ray tube, at a high voltage of 45kV, using polycapillary X-ray optics and under a geometry with a scattering angle of 155.5°. Modified from the reference［19］.
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Figure 3.
XRF spectra of two topaz crystals measured under the same experimental conditions (a). For better visibility of the details of the scattering contributions, a magnified region from 17keV to 23keV is shown (b). Note that the energy scale corresponding to the topaz 2 spectrum has been shifted to higher energies by 0.3keV. Modified from the reference［19］.
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Figure 4.
Calibration curves for sulfur with samples prepared in the form of beads without BaO addition (a) and with BaO addition (b)［26］.
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Figure 5.
(a) X-ray spectrum within the range of wavelengths from 0.151nm to 0.156nm. CRM-MA-N with the elemental contents: Ta 290mg/kg, Cu 140mg/kg; (b) The spectral distribution within the range of wavelengths from 0.128 to 0.136nm. CRM-MA-N with the elemental contents: Ta 290mg/kg, Ga 59mg/kg, Zn 220mg/kg, W 70mg/kg, Nb 173mg/kg. Modified from the reference［42］.