Chemical Analysis of Zinc Electroplating Solutions by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

Abstract

A quantitative analysis method used to analyze chlorine, iron and zinc in electroplating solutions, using Xray spectrometry in atmospheric He mode, is proposed. The present research concerns the replacement of the conventional analyses of electroplating solutions with rapid and reproducible quantification using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. An in-depth investigation conducted in the present study identifies the species present in the real electroplating solutions. XRD patterns and semi-quantitative results for the electroplating solutions show synthetic standards based on the compositional range of solutions by analyzing the electroplating solutions obtained in real processes. 28 calibration standard solutions are prepared by diluting liquid standard solutions certified by titration and ICP-OES analyses used to construct the XRF calibration curves for Cl, Fe and Zn. The suggested method showed satisfactory precision and accuracy in the analysis of electroplating solutions. The present study provides evidences that the proposed XRF spectrometry could be an alternative analytical method to replace the conventional techniques by comparing the uncertainties estimated for each method.