Chemical characterization using relative intensity of manganese Kβ' and Kβ5 X-ray fluorescence

X-ray fluorescence can be used not only for the identification/quantification of elements but also for chemical speciation. The present paper demonstrates the potential feasibility of Kβ spectra measured with a middle energy resolution around ∼10 eV at 6-8 keV, with the main idea being the efficient detection of intensity changes of Kβ' and Kβ5 rather than precise measurements of energy shifts that require high energy-resolution. The experiments were performed at BL40XU, SPring-8, with quasi-monochromatic X-rays (fundamental peak 10.0 keV). Manganese Kβ spectra were collected using a spectrometer with a Ge(2 2 0) Johansson analyzing crystal (R=120 mm). Since spectral changes were clearly observed, the integrated intensities of Kβ' and Kβ5 lines were normalized by Kβ1,3 in order to compare the profiles of the spectra for a number of samples. It has been found that chemical species are suitably classified in the map of Kβ'-Kβ5 relative intensity