Mercury-free concentration standard for x-ray analysis
AssigneeUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette
InventorHarry James Whitlow
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Abstract
Instruments used to analyze the chemical composition of samples must be calibrated to provide accurate results. Typically, standards are prepared that contain a known amount of the intended analyte to facilitate calibration of the analytical instrument. Various environmental issues are associated with use of mercury containing materials as standards for calibration of analytical instruments. Mercury and gold have very similar characteristic X-ray energies. Standards containing gold nanoparticles have been found to be a good surrogate for mercury in X-ray spectroscopy.
Claims12
A standard without the toxicity of mercury used to calibrate an apparatus used to analyze a sample for mercury content which comprises:
- (a) gold nanoparticles;
- (b) a matrix powder.
A method for determining the concentration of mercury in a sample comprising:
- (a) calibrating an X-ray spectrometer using a standard,
- (b) analyzing the sample using the calibrated X-ray spectrometer,
- (c) wherein the standard is comprised of gold nanoparticles and a matrix powder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.