Optimization of measurement conditions of an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer with high-energy polarized beam excitation for analysis of aerosol filters.

A new commercial energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (EDXRF), applying a three-dimensional geometry and high-energy excitation, was optimized for the quantitative analysis of aerosols deposited on filters. The preliminary results are presented here. First-order calibration curves were obtained for 20 elements deposited on the filters. The accuracy of the applied method and of the obtained calibration curves was checked by the measurement of a standard reference material from NIST. The precision of the analysis for the majority of the analytes was better than 10%. Due to the obtained low detection limits, it is possible to determine the analytes usually present at very low concentrations in ambient air, such as, e.g., Cd, Sb, Cr, and V. It is also possible to decrease significantly the time of analysis or the time of the sampling.