In the accurate analysis of ceramic powders with few or no available standards by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, the glass bead technique combined with the Fundamental Parameter (FP) method is suitable. As an example of ceramic powder analysis, we determined Y
2O
3, BaO, and CuO in a superconductor YBa
2Cu
3O
7-δ with this combined method.
The results obtained were as follows:
1) Satisfactory glass beads with near-infinite thickness to both incident and fluorescent X-rays were found to be prepared from 10g of Na
2B
4O
7, 1g of sample, and 0.20g of potassium iodide.
2) The calculation of the absorption enhancement effects for the Y
Kα, Ba
Kα, and Cu
Kα lines got the results below. The Y
Kα line is more absorbed by substituting Y
2O
3 in the mixed reagents (Y
2O
3-BaO-CuO) with either BaO or CuO. The Ba
Kα line is enhanced [a little more absorbed] by substituting BaO in the mixed reagents with CuO [Y
2O
3] The Cu
Kα line is more absorbed [a little enhanced] by substituting CuO in the mixed reagents with BaO [Y
2O
3].
3) Y
2O
3, BaO, and CuO in the superconductor were determined with the good accuracies (σ
d'S) of 0.11wt%, 0.18wt%, and 0.19wt%, respectively by the combined method.
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