Analysis of trace elements in gold alloys by SR-XRF at high energy at the BAMline

Measuring in a non-destructive way the characteristic trace elements of the metal allows following the circulation of gold in the past. The aim of this work is to probe the possibilities of X-ray fluorescence with high energy synchrotron radiation (SR-XRF) at the BAMline at BESSY II to determine the concentration of Pt in ancient gold alloys. A HP-Ge detector was used to measure the Pt K-lines excited with an incident energy of 79.5 keV. Data processing was done by subtraction of a Pt free gold standard spectrum from the spectrum of the sample. Depending on the sample composition, the MDL ranges between 40 and 90 ppm. The first results obtained for a small set of gold alloys of different thickness, size and composition showed that high energy SR-XRF is a significant method for the non-destructive determination of Pt in gold. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.