Choice of optimum conditions of emitter preparation for X-ray fluorescence analysis of aerosols

Abstract

The nonuniformity of aerosol distribution over filter surface was studied. It was found that the distribution depends on the properties of the studied object and on the sampler type: particle concentration is often higher in the center of the filter, but in some cases, they shift to the edges; the uniform distribution of particles is observed rarely. It was shown that, if the emitter in X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) is a disk 3 cm in diameter cut from the center of a filter 5 cm in diameter, the systematic error of the results of analysis may be higher than 0.30. Recommendations on the choice of the conditions of sampling aerosols and emitter preparation are formulated. If these conditions are met, the results of XRF analysis of nonuniform filters are characterized by s_r = 0.05, which satisfies the admissible error.