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ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 50, NO. 7, JUNE 1978
Determination of Halogens by Activation Analysis with a Californium-252 Neutron Multiplier Jesse T. Gerard* and Jacob L. Pietruszewski Research Laboratories, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York 14650
An instrumental neutron activation analysis procedure is described for the determination of chlorine, bromine, and iodine using a 252Cf neutron multiplier (CFX) as the source of neutrons. The y-ray photopeaks from %I, "Br, 78mBr,and I2*Iwere measured to determine chlorine, bromine, and iodine; leN was used to determine fluorine by a method previously established using 252Cfwithout multiplication. Approximately 10-100 mg of sample are required for an analysis. The analytical precision and accuracy are generally better than 1% RSD. The method offers an attractive alternative to existing chemical and instrumental methods for the determination of the halogens because it has the potential for providing rapid, nondestructive analyses with reasonably good precision and accuracy for materials characterization.
Table I. CFX Sensitivities Sensitivity range gga
DY 0.001-0.01 Eu, Ga, Au, Ir, Mn, Re, Sm 0.01-0.1 As, Br, Cs, Eb, Hf, Ho, Lu, Na, U, Yb Sb, Ba, Gd, In, I , La, N d , Os, Pt, R u , 0.1-1.0 Sc, Se, Sr, W, V , Zn, Cd Al, Ce, C1, Cu, Ge, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pd, K, 1.0-10 Pr, Rh, Ag, Ta, Tb, Th, Tm, Sn, Ti, Co Cr, Fe, Mg, Nb, Rb, Te, Y, Zr 10-100 >loo Ca, F a Sensitivities are expressed as the micrograms of element that must be in the sample to be detected and determined. They were based on interference-free conditions using two 3 X 3-in. NaI(T1) detectors. Irradiation times range from a few seconds to 15 h (overnight depending on half-life) and count times of a few seconds to 3 h, again depending on half-life.
