TRACE ANALYSIS OF HIGH-PURITY IRON BY TOTAL REFLECTION X-RAY FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRY

A combined procedure enabling simultaneous multielement analysis of trace impurities in high-purity iron is presented. After removal of the iron matrix by solvent extraction with methyl isobutyl ketone, the trace elements Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Pb and Bi are determined by means of total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis. Detection limits are found in the range of 100 ng/g. The reliability of the method is verified by the analysis of commercial high-purity iron and by the comparison of analytical data obtained by ICP-AES.