I.Definitions and Classification

Quartz sand refers to quartz particles processed from quartz through procedures including crushing, screening, acid washing, water washing and calcination. In China, quartz sand is generally classified by its contents of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) and ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃), mainly divided into ordinary quartz sand, refined quartz sand and high-purity quartz sand.

Among them, high-purity quartz sand features a higher SiO₂ content than ordinary and refined quartz sand. It boasts excellent chemical stability, high insulation and voltage resistance, as well as an extremely low volume expansion coefficient. As an indispensable key raw material for high-tech industries such as core electronic devices, optical communication materials and solar cells, it serves as the basic feedstock for manufacturing quartz crucibles, insulating materials for electronic components and packaging of large-scale integrated circuits.

II. Classification of Quartz Sand

III. Determination of Chemical Compositions in Quartz Sand by XRF

At present, the chemical compositions of quartz sand are mainly determined via traditional chemical analysis methods. Nevertheless, such methods feature cumbersome operating procedures and lengthy testing durations, and the analytical results are highly susceptible to operators' proficiency and various reagent-related factors. X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) has been widely adopted in numerous fields owing to its advantages including high sensitivity, wide detection range and rapid analysis speed.

IV. Application Cases

(1) Sample Preparation Methods

The preparation of solid powder samples generally includes the pressed pellet method and the fusion method. Among them, the pressed pellet method features simple operation, fast testing speed and low cost, which is suitable for the rapid analysis of a large number of samples. The pressed pellet method was adopted for preparing sample tablets in this experiment.

(2)Sample Preparation Procedures

Drying and Calcination → Mixing and Grinding → Pellet Pressing

(3) Prepared Samples

(4) Analytical Results

In this experiment, the LANScientific ScopeX 980Quartz Analyzer for quartz sand was adopted to test and analyze quartz sand samples. The analytical results are as follows:

(5) Conclusion

The LANScientific ScopeX 980Quartz Analyzer for quartz sand delivers favorable accuracy and repeatability in the determination of quartz sand, which can support the quartz sand industry to adopt stricter quality control standards.