Sample Requirements

The XRF spectroscopist is confronted with an almost infinite variety of samples. What they have in common is that they must all be presented to the XRF spectrometer in the form of a homogeneous, flat disc. Liquid samples, from water to oil, are run in sample cells covered with a thin film. Many solid samples, if homogeneous, can be machined to the proper shape and run directly. Others, such as refractories, ores, and biological materials, are too inhomogeneous
and must be pulverized or fused. Then the homogenized material can be dissolved for analysis as a liquid sample, pressed into pellet form, or cast as a glasslike solid.

SPEX SamplePrep manufactures disposable sample-handling accessories for powder and liquid XRF samples. Over the last twenty years, millions of powder samples for XRF have been pressed and protected in SPEX SamplePrep Spec-Caps. Millions more liquid XRF samples have been run in SPEX SamplePrep X-Cells. These and the related products listed here will save you time and money, and assure you of reproducible, contamination-free results.

SPEX SamplePrep also provides an extensive line of sample preparation equipment particularly suited for XRF spectroscopy. There are laboratory mills and grinding containers capable of converting most solid samples into homogeneous powders, as well as dies and presses capable of compressing those powders into flat, uniform sample discs, ready for XRF analysis. There are also the Claisse Fluxers for rapid, automated borate fusions, yielding XRF
glass discs, or solutions for AA, ICP, etc. For further fusion work there are also full lines of graphite crucibles, borate fusion fluxes, and fusion additives such as non-wetting agents and oxidants. These products are described elsewhere in this handbook; please feel free to consult our sample preparation specialists to determine the optimum equipment and techniques for your application.

SPEX SamplePrep also offers Certified Reference Materials (CRM) for organic and inorganic spectroscopy and chromatography; a detailed description of these products can be found on p.93. They are also available through the SPEX SamplePrep Catalog of Certified
Reference Materials.