ABSTRACT Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis can be considered one of the main recent advances for chemical characterization of earth materials. The water content of the samples can affect the pXRF performance. As a novelty, we aimed to establish relationships (linear regression) between the effect of water content on pXRF results and atomic number (Z) of the elements. Three certified reference materials (CRM) were investigated: OREAS 100a, OREAS 101a, and OREAS 101b. These materials were saturated (0.68 g g-1) with distilled water and left to air-dry naturally. During the drying, the elemental concentrations (C) were determined at different water contents using a pXRF spectrometer. For each water content, the ratio Cwet/Cdry was determined and... |