Environmental applications of PIXE at the Institute of Physics, UNAM

The particle induced X-ray emission technique (PIXE), developed by Johansson and colleagues in Lund, Sweden, in the 70’s has been usedsince then in a high number of studies requiring detection and quantification of trace elements at high sensitivity (better than 1 mg/kg).PIXE is grouped among the nu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: A. Mireles, H. Zolezzi-Ruiz, C. Solís, E. Andrade
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2007
País:México
Institución:Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Repositorio:Redalyc-UNAM
OAI Identifier:oai:redalyc.org:57066308
Acceso en línea:https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=57066308
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/570/57066308/
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/570/57066308/html/
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/570/57066308/57066308.epub
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/570/57066308/movil
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Física, Astronomía y Matemáticas
PIXE
Mexico
biomonitors
Trace elements
heavy metal pollution
Descripción
Sumario:The particle induced X-ray emission technique (PIXE), developed by Johansson and colleagues in Lund, Sweden, in the 70’s has been usedsince then in a high number of studies requiring detection and quantification of trace elements at high sensitivity (better than 1 mg/kg).PIXE is grouped among the nuclear analytical techniques because the samples are bombarded with particles (protons generally) acceleratedin an accelerator. When protons interact with matter an X-Ray spectrum is produced by the deexcitation of atoms in the sample. Fromthis spectrum the elements contained in the sample as well as their concentrations can be determined. In this work we describe the PIXEtechnique and several applications in the environmental field developed at the Institute of Physics of the National Autonomous University ofMexico (IFUNAM). These practical applications include field studies for analyses of suspended particles in air using tree leaves, irrigationwater quality based on heavy metal analyses, and analyses of trace elements in plants cultivated in waste water irrigated soil.