The Use of Si carriers for aerosol particle collection and subsequent elemental analysis by total-reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

Esaka, Fumitaka  ; Watanabe, Kazuo; Onodera, Takashi; Taguchi, Takuji; Magara, Masaaki  ; Usuda, Shigekazu

In order to improve the sensitivity of elemental analysis for aerosol particles by total-reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (TXRF), silicon wafer carriers with diameters of 25 mm were selected and prepared for direct impact collection and subsequent analysis. The detection limits of elements on the carrier were determined and found to be superior to those on glassy carbon and quartz glass carriers used in previous studies. By using the silicon wafer carriers, aerosol particles with the sizes of 2.0 m, 0.3-2.0 m and 0.05-0.3 m were collected at Ibaraki in Japan from January to August 2002 and analyzed by TXRF. Selenium Consequently, the elements with the concentration of ng/m &8211; pg/m in the particles were successfully detected. The results revealed that K, V, Zn, Br and Pb were concentrated in fine particles, which is presumed to arise from anthropogenic sources. In contrast, Ca, Ti and Fe were contained in coarse particles, which is presumed to arise from soil.