X‐Ray fluorescence analysis of zinc‐aluminium binary alloys by mathematical correction of matrix effects

Abstract The zinc contents of a series of zinc‐aluminium binary alloys were determined by wavelength‐dispersive x‐ray fluorescence spectrometry using very small samples. The Zn Kα radiation from the alloy undergoes an apparent enhancement due to the widely different absorption coefficients of zinc and aluminium for radiation close to the short‐wavelength side of the K absorption edge of zinc. This was corrected mathematically by using mass absorption coefficients from the literature. The method is comparable in accuracy to wet chemical analysis. The precision obtained is of the order of 0.25% relative at 6 atom‐% of zinc. The method of fitting the measured Zn Kα intensity to a non‐linear function of composition is also examined.