Hand-Held FTIR Analyzers -- A New Capability for At-Site Measurements of Rock and Minerals -- Use of FTIR for Elucidating Rock and Mineral Composition

摘要

A2 Technologies' Exoscan hand-held FTIR (Figure 1) is increasingly being used by researchers involved in the geosciences for analysis of rocks, minerals, and soil for a broad variety of applications. The reason for this acceptance is that the Exoscan system, equipped with diffuse reflectance sampling interface, can be used equally effectively in the laboratory or field locales to provide molecular analysis of geological specimens, with little or no sample preparation. FTIR is a natural complement to the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) field analyzers that have been used for years by geoscientists. Whereas the latter analyzers provide information about what elements are present, FTIR provides information about how the elements are bonded to form the mineral's chemical composition. FTIR is highly sensitive to most minerals composed of light elements, including all silicates which compose 90percent of the earth's crust. XRF is more sensitive to the heavier elements. Thus, by using both XRF and FTIR, the geoscientist has a far more complete understanding of the chemistry of the specimen or site.