0 votes
55 views
ago in Analytical Chemistry by (430 points)
What is the composition of a sample containing unknown minerals collected from a specific mining site using X-ray diffraction analysis?

1 Answer

0 votes
ago by (390 points)
As a chemist, I can provide you with a general approach to solving this problem, but I cannot give you the exact composition without the actual X-ray diffraction  XRD  data. Here's the process you would follow to determine the composition of the unknown minerals in the sample:1. Obtain the X-ray diffraction pattern: First, you need to perform an X-ray diffraction analysis on the sample. This will provide you with a diffraction pattern, which is a series of peaks at specific angles  2  and intensities.2. Identify the minerals: Compare the obtained XRD pattern with known XRD patterns of minerals in a database, such as the International Centre for Diffraction Data  ICDD  Powder Diffraction File  PDF  or the Crystallography Open Database  COD . By matching the peak positions and intensities, you can identify the minerals present in the sample.3. Quantify the minerals: Once you have identified the minerals, you can use the relative intensities of the peaks to estimate the relative abundance of each mineral in the sample. This can be done using methods such as Rietveld refinement or the Reference Intensity Ratio  RIR  method.4. Report the composition: Finally, you can report the composition of the sample as the weight percentage or volume percentage of each identified mineral.Remember that this is a general approach, and the accuracy of the results will depend on the quality of the XRD data, the database used for comparison, and the method used for quantification.
Welcome to Sarvan Science Q&A, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of the community.
...