Abstract
A review over the current practice in the determination of copper in complex brasses by x-ray-fluorescence spectroscopy is outlined. It is shown that, in close agreement with experimental results, interelement effects may be derived from fundamental considerations based on intensity integrals and primary and secondary absorption effects in brass samples. A new method for the copper determination in complex brasses is described, which is based on the measurement of the intensity ratio between the Zn and the Gu lines. This method is independent of the absorption or enhancement effects of additives or impurities of the alloy and is very little influenced by variation in high tension of the x-ray tube or variations of position, preparation, and size of the sample. The counting time can be reduced in comparison with the conventional method. The same principles may be used for the analysis of several other chemical systems.