XRF major element analyses of silicate rocks using 1:10 dilution ratio glass bead and a synthetically extended calibration curve method

Abstract

A high dilution ratio glass bead with a sample to flux ratio of 1:10 was prepared for a wide range of major element analyses using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Calibration curves were determined from 16 rock standards of the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) and 4 synthetic samples employing the software of the instrument. The precision of the calibration curves was sufficiently high, and the reproducibility was of adequate quality when compared to the 1:10 glass bead methods in other institutions laboratories. This method enables the measurement of igneous and metamorphic rocks that have extreme or anomalous bulk chemical compositions.