Abstract

We developed a general procedure that includes external standard calibration and a deconvolution of spectral signals, which determined with high accuracy the relative proportion and absolute quantification of elements that habitually overlap in total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The deconvolution proposed takes advantage of the well-known method of a cross-correlation technique, offering improvements in identification of simultaneous signals and in the determination of the relative elemental proportions. The external standard calibration was studied determining its range of application for the elements of interest and implemented in certified standard samples producing excellent results for the quantification of the mentioned elements. In this paper, we show the quality of the results obtained for specific heavy metals of currently health and industrial interest in the range of linear response of 0.2-200ng. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.