B018830 - METHODS OF MINERAL ANALYSES

Italian

Fundamental knowledge of the Scanning and Transmission Electronic Microscopies and main applications to the study of minerals; Electron Probe Microanalysis. Chemical analysis through X-ray Fluorescence. Powder X-ray Diffraction. Introduction to the most common spectroscopic methods in mineralogy.

1) G. P. Bernardini – Metodi Fisici di Analisi Mineralogica – Firenze University Press (1982)
2) A. Putnis – Introduction to Mineral Sciences – Cambridge University Press (1992)

Multidisciplinary skill in mineral characterisation including physical, chemical and
physical-chemical features.
Basic approach to the most used spectroscopies in Mineralogy.

Knowledge acquired in the courses of Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics,
Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Petrography

Contact class with use of blackboard, video-projector for computer, overhead projector. Laboratory exercises at research facilities (electron microscopies, XRF, EPR, IR).

frequency to lessons and laboratories is highly recommended, but not mandatory

Oral examination with eventual discussion of a scientific article given by the professor.

Mineral separation and preparation for instrumental investigations.
Scanning electron microscopy. The electron gun. Thermo-ionic and field emission sources. Beam adjustment and focusing. Capacitor lenses and objective lenses. Formation and interpretation of images.
Electronic microprobe and microanalysis. Electron-matter interaction. Elastic and inelastic diffusion. Excitation volume. Energy levels and electronic transitions. Moseley's law. Matrix effects and correction factors. EDS and WDS spectrometers.
Diffraction of back-scattered electrons. Principles and operation of the EBSD technique. Sample Preparation. Microstructural and crystallographic analysis. Kikuchi lines and phase recognition.
Transmission electronic microscopy. Scheme and principles of operation of TEM. Sample Preparation. De Broglie's relationship and resolution power. Direct and reciprocal network. Diffraction of electrons. Diffraction contrast images: bright field and dark field. The study of defects in solids.
General scheme of a spectrophotometer: sources, monochromators, detectors. The Lambert-Beer Law. Vibrational spectroscopies. Vibration theory of molecules and crystals: classic model and quantum-mechanical model.
IR spectroscopy. Sources, interferometers, detectors. Translational, vibrational and rotational motion. Interaction with radiation. Active IR modes. Applications to organic molecules and inorganic substances. The effect of binders. FTIR and microFTIR. Transmission and reflection techniques. Mineralogical applications.
SIMS, introduction, instrumentation and examples.
Mineral stoichiometry calculations.
XRD: diagnostic applications and quantitative analysis. Introduction to the Rietveld method.
XRF spectrometry: instrumentation, sample preparation, EDS and WDS analysis;
quantitative methods.
Introduction to EPR and Moessbauer spectroscopies.
Introduction to synchrotron radiation: large facilities and potential use for Earth
Sciences purposes (X-ray diffraction, absorption and tomography).
XAS spectroscopy; the EXAFS and XANES regions; examples in mineralogy