XRF Analysis

XRF analysis offers a rapid, accurate and non-destructive means to determine the elemental composition of a wide range of materials with minimal sample preparation required. From minerals to polymers, catalysts to metals, XRF spectroscopy provides invaluable insights quickly and efficiently.

What is XRF analysis?
XRF technology operates on the principle of fluorescence induced by X-rays. When a sample is irradiated with high-energy X-rays, it emits secondary X-rays that are characteristic to each element present. This emission is captured and analyzed by the XRF spectrometer, providing quantitative and semi-quantitative data on elemental composition without altering the sample's integrity for a wide range of materials including metals, polymers, powders, pellets, beads, granules and a wide range of sample types including chemicals, polymers, minerals, catalysts, deposits and product components.

Challenges in Material Analysis
Industries across aerospace, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics, medical devices and beyond, face consistent challenges in ensuring product quality and regulatory compliance. Traditional analytical methods often require extensive sample preparation and time-consuming processes, delaying critical decision-making processes. Conversely XRF analysis can overcome the difficult digestions required for traditional analysis with ease, and the technique provides rapid results, capable of analyzing multiple elements sequentially, from major components to trace elements thus enhancing workflow efficiency and reducing downtime. This is where XRF elemental analysis emerges as a solution, combining speed with comprehensive elemental data insight.

XRF Applications 
Our scientists support global innovators and producers across various industries to help resolve these common concerns:

• Quality Assurance/Quality Control: Ensuring consistency in manufacturing processes
• Raw Material Verification: Validating the composition of incoming materials to meet production standards.
• Polymer Materials Analysis
• Research and Development: Supporting innovation by providing detailed material composition data
• Regulatory Compliance: XRF analysis facilitates screening for substances for regulatory data requirements such as REACH and RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), crucial for compliance in industries such as electronics manufacturing
• Semi-quantitative XRF elemental analysis covering all elements from Na to U
• Bespoke calibrations available for projects
• Analytical range from ppm up to 100%

XRF composition analysis benefits a wide range of industries, including electronics, where it ensures compliance with stringent regulatory and quality standards. In the automotive sector, XRF is used to analyze materials and metals for composition and impurities in relation to performance. The medical device industry relies on XRF to verify material safety and composition, critical for biomedical applications. XRF impurity analysis determination for virgin polymers is possible at ppm levels or additives in filled plastics up to % levels.

XRF Mapping
Our XRF testing lab uses our advanced wavelength-dispersive XRF spectrometer (WDXRF, S8 TIGER Series 2) to apply XRF imaging to help resolve contamination or quality challenges. Once the samples have been analysed and elements identified this data can be analysed by XRF2 mapping software. We can pinpoint sections of the sample using a 300 µm or 1.2 mm spot size and 100 µm step size, then we can begin a targeted qualitative analysis of multiple spots. This is especially useful in contamination analysis or looking for distribution of an analyte across a sample. This is conducted on a macro scale and is useful for samples that are too large for SEM-EDX or for where a greater sample penetration is required than SEM-EDX can provide. An example of small spot mapping with high-resolution optics is its ability to provide detailed elemental surface mapping, which is sensitive for both light and heavy elements, which is critical in fields such as advanced materials research.

Bringing quality and safety to life, our XRF analysis lab provides swift and reliable insights into material composition across diverse industries driving efficiency, compliance, and innovation. Contact our scientists now to discuss how our XRF analysis services can help you to enhance quality control and regulatory compliance.