Determination of metals in polycarbonate foils by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence methods

Polycarbonate foils with thicknesses from 0.08 to 2.5 mm containing Ti, Cr, Fe and Ba were analysed by energy‐dispersive x‐ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) was used to validate the EDXRF results. The element concentrations ranged for Ti from 0.04 to 0.75%, for Cr from 0.03 to 0.3% and for Fe from 0.25 to 1.30%. The concentration of Ba was about 1%. The results obtained by EDXRF were of the same quality as those provided by NAA, but the NAA method was found to be more accurate for polycarbonate samples containing both Ti and Ba. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.