Dependence with the oxidation state of X-ray transition energies, intensities and natural line widths of CrKβ spectra

Abstract The Kβ emission spectrum of chromium was experimentally analyzed in different compounds and compared with previous data. Measurements of whole Kβ spectra were performed with a wavelength dispersive commercial XRF equipment. To study possible effects of the chemical state in the width and position of the main Kβ 1,3 line, high resolution measurements were also performed. In the latter measurements, a spectrometer based on a backdiffracting crystal analyzer with spherical focalization and synchrotron radiation monochromatic excitation was used. Kβ 1,3 line shifts in relation to metallic Cr were observed, both to higher energies (≅+1 eV) for Cr III and to lower energies (≅−0.5 eV) for Cr VI . It was also found that the natural width of CrKβ 1,3 line, the ionization energy of the 3p orbital of Cr, and the relative intensities of Kβ″ and Kβ 2,5 lines with respect to the main Kβ 1,3 line increase as the oxidation state increases. The use of these features as an index for chemical state analysis is discussed.