The precise and accurate determination of silicon in rocks by 14-MeV neutron activation analysis

✍ Scribed by D.M. Bibby

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 914 KB
• Volume: 79
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-2670
• DOI: 10.1016/s0003-2670(00)89425-8

✦ Synopsis

Silicon, with a concentration of about 27 % [ 11, is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust, and the most important in full major element geochemical analyses. Classical chemical methods for the determination of silicon are generally lengthy and require a high degree of skill if accurate results are to be obtained. The main instrumental method for the determination of silicon is x-ray fluorescence, but considerable matrix corrections have to be made unless the samples are fused with a heavy absorber. All these methods require prior dissolution or fusion of the rock; this can be a source of error, and is time-consuming with refractory materials.

The determination of silicon by fast neutron activation analysis (f.n.a.a.) is essentially non-destructive, and requires little or no sample preparation. The determination of silicon in a wide variety of matrices has been investigated by many authors [ 21, but only a limited amount of work [ 31 has been published on the potential accuracy and precision of this method.

This paper details an investigation into the precise and accurate determination of silicon in a number of well-characterized silicate rocks.