Determination of fluorine concentrations using wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometry to analyze fluoride precipitates.

Abstract:

In recent times, fluorine has been receiving increasing attention due to the possibility for chemical (HF) leakage accidents and its high toxicity to human and environment. In this respect, a novel approach for the determination of fluorine concentrations in water samples using wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometry was investigated in this study. The main disadvantage of WDXRF technique for fluorine analysis is low analytical sensitivity for light elements with atomic number (Z) less than 15. To overcome this problem, we employed the precipitation reaction which fluoride is reacted with cation such as Al3+ and/or Ca2+ prior to WDXRF analysis because of their high analytical sensitivity. The cation was added in fluoride solutions to form precipitate (AlF3 and/or CaF2) and then the solution was filtered through Whatman filter. After drying at 60 °C for 5 min, the filter was coated with X-ray film and directly analyzed using WDXRF spectrometry. Consequently, we analyzed the cation on filter and subsequently fluorine concentration was calculated inversely based on chemical form of precipitate. This method can improve the analytical sensitivity of WDXRF technique for fluorine analysis and be applicable to various elements that can make precipitate.