Chemical History with a Nuclear Microprobe

Abstract

SummaryA nuclear microprobe cannot give direct information on the chemical state of an element, but the spatial distribution of elements in a specimen is often determined by the chemical history of the sample. Fuel cells and minerals are examples'of complex systems whose elemental distributions are determined by past chemical history. The distribution of catalyst in used fuel cell electrodes provides direct information on the chemical stability of dispersed catalysts under operating conditions. We have used spatially resolved Rutherford backscattering'to measure the migration of platinum and vanadium from intermetallic catalysts and to determine their suitability for use under the extreme operating conditions found in phosphoric acid fuel cells. Geologic materials are complex, heterogeneous samples with small mineral grains. The trace element distribution within the individual mineral grains and between different mineral phases is sensitive to the details of the mineral formation and history. The spatial resolution and sub-100-ppm sensitivity available with a nuclear microprobe open up several new classes of experiments to the geochemist. Geochemistry and electrochemistry are two areas proving particularly fruitful for application of the nuclear microprobe.

The Nuclear Microprobe

“…SIMS has higher spatial resolution and sensitivity than PIXE, and has great potential fo r analytical geo chemistry. However, it is difficult to quantify elemental concentrations measured with SIMS, which is why PIXE analysis has developed into an important technique in analytical geochemistry (96,97) . Applica tions of the Nuclear Microprobe in this field include the measurement of trace element concentrations in coal (98,99) .…”