High-resolution X-ray absorption microspectroscopy of lamellar phases in natural ilmenite

X-ray absorption microscopy is used to study the surface of a mineral, ilmenite. High-quality surface-sensitive micrographs are easily obtained without special sample preparation beyond that usually used in preparing samples for optical microscopy. The X-ray micrographs show an expected lamellar domain structure that has a very strong contrast change at the iron and titanium L-edges. High-resolution spectroscopy from these two different regions reveals fine structure from iron atoms in two different charge states, and titanium in a single phase. A theoretical analysis and curve-fitting procedure is used to determine the precise stoichiometry of the structures in the two phases detected. These results show that quantitative surface chemistry studies can be performed on natural mineral samples using X-ray photoelectron emission microscopy. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.