X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Iron, Nickel, and Copper in Titanium- and Zirconium-Based Alloys by Aqueous Solution Method

A simple, rapid, and accurate method is described for the determination of iron, nickel, and copper in samples containing some refractory metals. Samples are dissolved in a mixture of nitric and hydrofluoric acid and saturated boric acid solution is added to the mxiture to mask the excess of hydrofluoric acid. Iron, nickel, and copper are determined directly in the final sample solution by X-ray fluorescence analysis. The effect of the concentration of hydrofluoric acid on the X-ray intensity of the element in interest was negligible below 2 normal. The interelement effects of iron, nickel, and copper, however, were considerably large, so a correction had to be considered for the diverse element. This proposed method brought the result so rapidly that it took only about 10 minutes for the analysis of one sample through. The relative errors of analytical results were below 3 per cent. This method, moreover, may have a broad applicability in the analysis of refractory metals in alloy steels and other alloys