Petrology deals with the study of the chemical and physical properties of rocks and minerals in order to reconstruct the conditions under which they form and evolve.
Our petrological research primarily focuses on the formation and evolution of magmatic rocks as well as metamorphic processes within the Earth’s crust and upper mantle.
We investigate the interplay between the conditions of magma genesis and the composition of magmatic rocks, as well as the processes that lead to the formation of ore deposits. One of the main directions of our research is the formation of critical resources such as oxide-, sulfide-, and carbonatite-related ores.
A central aspect of our work is the analysis and interpretation of the major and trace element composition of rocks and minerals. For this purpose, we use our in-house analytical facilities, including an electron microprobe, spectroscopy, laser-ICP-MS, and high-pressure high-temperature apparatus. Our research projects include fieldwork in various regions worldwide.
The role of Iceland mantle plume in the flux of toxic and heavy metals from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere
PIs: Botcharnikov R. (Mainz), Portnyagin M. (Geomar, Kiel), Pogge von Strandmann P. (Mainz), Buhre S. (Mainz), Rojas-Agramonte Y. (Heidelberg), Winter C. (Kiel)
Funding: EarthCrysis
Geochemical and gemological aspects of danburite crystals from salt diapirs: A case study from Southern Iran
Funding: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
PIs: R. Botcharnikov, T. Häger,
Postdoctoral researcher: Dr. Elahe Namnabat
Formation of cratonic lithospheric roots: Constraints from experimental petrological studies
Funding: China Scholarship Council (CSC)
PIs: Tong Hou (Beijing) and Roman Botcharnikov (Mainz)
Visiting PhD student: Zongpeng Yang
Modelling of CHROMium Enrichment in the mantle and the crust (CHROME)
PIs: E. Moulas, R. Botcharnikov, B. Kaus, S. Buhre
Funding: DFG, SPP DOME
Postdoctoral researcher: Dr. Nicolas Riel
Izu-Bonin-Mariana boninites – natural laboratory to study mantle melting and the evolution of magma plumbing systems in early stages of subduction
PIs: R. Almeev, F. Holtz, J. Koepke (Hannover), R. Botcharnikov (Mainz)
Funding: DFG, SPP IODP
Students: PhD Lennart Koch (Hannover)
High-pressure and high-temperature treatment of diamonds
PIs: T. Häger, R. Botcharnikov, S. Buhre
Funding: Idar-Oberstein, JGU
Students: PhD N.N.
Carbon recycling by arc magmatism: an assessment from experimentally homogenized melt inclusions in high-Mg olivine
PIs: R. Botcharnikov (Mainz), F. Holtz (Hannover), M. Portnyagin (Kiel), N. Mironov (Moscow)
Funding: DFG-RFBR Joint German-Russian Program
Students: PhD Stepan Krasheninnikov (Hannover – Mainz), BSc Anna Bott (Mainz)
Rare-metal enrichment mechanism in anatectic pegmatites: Evidence from partial melting experiments
Visiting PhD student: Siyu Liu
Funding: China Scholarship Council (CSC)
PIs: Rui Wang (Beijing) and Roman Botcharnikov (Mainz)
Metallogenesis of the submarine volcanogenic iron oxide deposit in Western Tianshan, NW China
Visiting PhD student: Hengxu Li
Funding: China Scholarship Council (CSC)
PIs: Zhaochong Zhang (Beijing), Tong Hou (Beijing) and Roman Botcharnikov (Mainz)
Spectroscopic analyses and quantification of water and iron contents in beryl from different localities
PIs: T. Häger and R. Botcharnikov
Funding: Idar-Oberstein, JGU
Student: PhD Carina Hanser
Constraining the time scales of magmatic and metamorphic
processes
PIs: E. Moulas and R. Botcharnikov
Funding: JGU
Student: PhD Annalena Stroh
Rare-metal enrichment in carbonatite-bearing magmatic systems: Part B. Understanding the role of fractional crystallization and liquid immiscibility by experimental simulations of silicate-carbonatite systems
PIs: R. Botcharnikov, S. Buhre (Mainz), F. Holtz (Hannover), M. Tichomirowa, B. Schulz (Freiberg), R. Klemd (Erlangen)
Funding: DFG SPP “DOME” 2238 – Dynamics of Ore Metals Enrichment
Students: PhD Antonia Simon (Hannover – Mainz)
Enrichment processes during transfer of chromium from the mantle to the crust
PIs: R. Botcharnikov, E. Moulas, S. Buhre (Mainz)
Funding: DFG SPP “DOME” 2238 – Dynamics of Ore Metals Enrichment
Students: PhD Myriam Ruttmann
Rare-metal enrichment in carbonatite-bearing magmatic systems: Part A. Understanding magmatic evolution and enrichment processes in time by high-precision dating and inclusion studies
PIs: R. Botcharnikov (Mainz), F. Holtz (Hannover), M. Tichomirowa, B. Schulz (Freiberg), R. Klemd (Erlangen)
Funding: DFG SPP “DOME” 2238 – Dynamics of Ore Metals Enrichment
Students: PhD Daria Voropaeva (Freiberg), MSc Philipp Richert (Mainz)
How platinum-group elements are accommodated in magmatic sulfide phases, substitutions and inclusions?
PIs: Hassan Helmy, Roman Botcharnikov
Funding: Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Prof. Hassan Helmy
Student: BSc Elisa Winkes
Atmospheric Inorganic and Organic Selenium Speciation in Volcanic Environments
PI: Alexandra Gutmann
Funding: JGU
Formation of monomineralic Fe-Ti oxide ores in the high-Ti ferrobasaltic system: A case study in Emeishan, China
PIs: F. Holtz (Hannover), R. Botcharnikov (Mainz), Z. Zhang (Beijing), T. Hou (Beijing)
Funding: DFG – China, Sino-German Program
Students: PhD Sarah Haselbach (Hannover), BSc Jonas Thiel (Mainz)
Behavior of chalcophile elements in subduction zone processes
PI: R. Botcharnikov
Funding: DFG
Students: PhD Anastasia Zemlitskaya, MSc Katharina Kuper, BSc Amanda Marianov, BSc Wieland Böhme, BSc Oumar Mbareck
Chen, S., Hou, T., Pan, R., Luo, D., Liu, G., Botcharnikov, R. (2026). Multi-level magma reservoir and open system processes of the Tianchi caldera, Changbaishan Volcanic Field, NE China. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 473, 108598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2026.108598
Portnyagin M., Botcharnikov R., Yogodzinski G., Garbe-Schönber D., Hoernle K. (2026) Melting of sulfide-bearing slab beneath the Western Aleutian Arc: Implications for chalcophile element abundances in slab-derived melts and the origin of continental crust. Geology, doi.org/10.1130/G53585.1
2025
Bindeman, I. N., J. Palandri, and C. Cimarelli. “Fulgurites: The Earth’s Minute Melts and Their Interaction with the Atmosphere.” Geochemical Perspectives Letters 38, no. 38 (2025): 1–5.
Yang Z., Hou T., Botcharnikov R., Moulas E., Weyer S., Wang M., Buhre S., and Zhang Z. (2025) Seismic and isotopic evidence for depth-dependent mantle sources of intraplate basalts from Eastern China. Communications Earth & Environment, 6, 1048, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03024-3
Liu W., Shi G., Zhou Z., Qin L., Li X., Botcharnikov R., Quan X., Yuan Y., Häger T., Jantschke A. (2025) High-temperature wood silicification: Constraints from fluid and carbonaceous inclusions in quartz from Qitai, NW China. Scientific Reports, 15, 421961, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-27072-z
Scicchitano, M. R., Shishkina, T. A., Wilke, F., Wilke, M., Botcharnikov, R. E., Almeev, R. R. (2025). Basaltic glasses for quantification of CO2 and H2O content by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). GFZ Data Services. https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.3.1.2024.009
Shea J., Hughes E., Balzer R., Bindemann I., Blundy J., Brooker R., Botcharnikov R., Cartigny P., EIMF, Gaetani G., Kilgour G., Maclennan J., Monteleone B., Neave D., Shorttle O. (2025) Improved precision and reference materials for stable carbon isotope analysis in basaltic glasses using secondary ion mass spectrometry. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research 49 (3), 607-627. https://doi.org/10.1111/ggr.12609
Hanser C.S., Schmitz F., Häger T., Botcharnikov R. (2025) Quantification of the Fe content in blue beryls and bluish-green emeralds using spectrum resolution of UV-Vis-NIR spectra. The Journal of Gemmology, 39: 338-350. doi.org/10.15506/JoG.2025.39.5.338
Wang, D., Hou, H., Botcharnikov, R., Weyer, S., Haselbach, S.-L., Zhang, Z., Wang, M., Horn, I., Holtz, F. (2025) Fe-isotopic evidence for hydrothermal reworking as a mechanism to form high-grade Fe-Ti-V oxide ores in layered intrusions, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 388, 78-93, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2024.11.017.
Liu S., Wang R., Botcharnikov R., Sha H. (2025) Formation of rare-element pegmatites in the Chinese Altai: Contribution of two-stage melting. Geology 53: 207-211; doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G52880.1
2024
Stechern, A., Blum-Oeste, M., Botcharnikov, R. E., Holtz, F., and Wörner, G. (2024) Magma storage conditions of Lascar andesites, central volcanic zone, Chile, Eur. J. Mineral ., 36, 721–748, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-36-721-2024.
Wang, D., Hou, H., Botcharnikov, R., Haselbach, S.-L., Almeev, R., Kluegel, A., Wang, M., Qin, J., Zhang, Z., Holtz, F. (2024) Experimental Constraints on the Storage Conditions and Differentiation of High-Ti Basalts from the Panzhihua and Hongge Layered Intrusions, SW China. Journal of Petrology (in press)
Hanser C.S., Vullum P. E., van Helvoort A. T. J., Schmitz F., Häger T., Botcharnikov R., Bodil H. (2024) Atomic resolution transmission electron microscopy visualisation of channel occupancy in beryl in different crystallographic directions. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 51: 24; 51:24; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-024-01285-6.
Hanser C.S., Häger T., Botcharnikov R. (2024) Incorporation and substitution of ions and H2O in the structure of beryl. European Journal of Mineralogy, 36, 449–472, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-36-449-2024
Stroh, A., Moulas, E., and Botcharnikov, R. (2024) FIDDO: FInite Difference Diffusion in Olivine (1.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10964860
Yang D.-M., Hou H., Botcharnikov R., Veksler I., Holtz F., Zhang Z., Zhang L., Simon A., Groschopf N. (2024) An experimental study on the role of F–, PO43-, Cl– and SO42- ligands in the natrocarbonatite-nephelinite system at 850 ℃ and 0.1 GPa. Chemical Geology, 655: 122085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122085
Botcharnikov R., Wilke M., Garrevoet J., Portnyagin M., Klimm K., Buhre, S., Krasheninnikov, S., Almeev R., Moune S., Falkenberg G. (2024) Confocal m-XANES as a tool to analyse Fe oxidation state in heterogeneous samples: the case of melt inclusions in olivine from the Hekla volcano. European Journal of Mineralogy, 36, 195–208, https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-36-195-2024.
Qi D., Behrens H., Lazarov M., Botcharnikov R., Zhang C., Ostertag-Henning C., Weyer S. (2024) An experimental study on the reaction of cuprite (Cu2O) with acetate-bearing hydrothermal fluids at 100°C – 250°C and 5 – 30 MPa. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00254
Helmy, H., Botcharnikov, R., Ballhaus, C., Buhre S. (2024) How and when do Pt-and Pd-semimetal minerals crystallize from saturated sulfide liquids? Frontiers in Earth Science, 11:1275208; https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1275208
Voropaeva D., Arzamastsev A.A., Botcharnikov R., Buhre S., Gilbricht S., Götze J., Klemd R., Schulz B., Tichomirowa M. (2024) LREE rich perovskite in antiskarn reactions – REE transfer from pyroxenites to carbonatites? Lithos, 468–469, 107480; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2023.107480
2023
Helmy, H., Botcharnikov, R., Ballhaus, C., Wirth, R., Schreiber, A. (2023) How Pt and Pd sit in magmatic sulfide phases, substitutions and/or inclusions? Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 178:7, 41. doi.org/10.1007/s00410-023-02018-8.
Hanser C.S., Stephan T., Gul B., Häger T., Botcharnikov R. (2023) Comparison of emeralds from the Chitral District, Pakistan with other Pakistani and Afghan emeralds. The Journal of Gemmology, 38(6), 582-599.
Sorokina E., Albert R., Botcharnikov R., Popov M., Häger T., Hofmeister W., Gerdes A. (2023) Genesis of Uralian andradite (var. demantoid): Constrains from in situ U-Pb LA-ICP-MS dating and trace element analysis. Lithos, 444-445: 107091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2023.107091
Yang Z., Hou T., Wang D., Marxer F., Wang M., Chebotarev D., Zhang Z., Zhang H., Botcharnikov R., Holtz F. (2023) The role of magma mixing in the petrogenesis of Eocene ultrapotassic lavas, Western Yunnan, SW China. Journal of Petrology, 64, 1–26 (Editor’s Choice paper), https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egac129
2022
Luo D., Reichow M.K., Hou T., Santosh M., Zhang Z., Wang M., Qin J., Yang D., Pan R., Wang, X., Holtz F., Botcharnikov R. (2022) A snapshot of the transition from monogenetic volcanoes to composite volcanoes: case study on the Wulanhada Volcanic Field (northern China). European Journal of Mineralogy, 34, 469–491, 2022; https://doi.org/10.5194/ejm-34-469-2022
Hanser C.S., Gul B., Häger T., Botcharnikov R. (2022) Emerald from the Chitral region, Pakistan: A new deposit. The Journal of Gemmology, 38(3), 234–252, https://doi.org/10.15506/JoG.2022.38.3.234
Pan R., Hou T., Wang X., Encarnación, J., Botcharnikov R. (2022) Multiple magma storage regions and open system processes revealed by chemistry and textures of the Datong tholeiitic lavas, North China Craton. Journal of Petrology, egac034, https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egac034
2021
Sugzdaite A., Häger T., Sorokina E., Popov M.P., Nikolaev A.G., Botcharnikov R., Hofmeister W. (2021) Investigations of natural and heat-treated demantoids from the Central Ural Mountains in Russia. Z. Dt. Gemmol. Ges., 70/3-4, 19-36.
Helmy, H., Botcharnikov, R., Ballhaus, C., Deutsch-Zemlitskaya, A., Wirth, R., Schreiber, A., Buhre, S., and Häger, T. (2021) Evolution of magmatic sulfide liquids: how and when base metal sulfides crystallize? Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 176: 107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-021-01868-4
Füri E., Portnyagin M., Mironov N., Delignya C., Gurenko A., Botcharnikov R., Holtz F. (2021) In situ quantification of the nitrogen content of olivine-hosted melt inclusions from Klyuchevskoy volcano (Kamchatka): Implications for nitrogen recycling at subduction zones. Chemical Geology, 582: 120456.
Hou T., Botcharnikov R., Moulas E., Just T., Koepke, J., Berndt J., Yang Z., Zhang Z., Wang M., and Holtz F. (2021) Kinetics of Fe-Ti oxide re-equilibration in magmatic systems: Implications for thermo-oxybarometry. Journal of Petrology, 1-24, doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egaa116.
Sorokina E., Botcharnikov R., Kostitsyn Y.A., Rösel D., Häger T., Rassomakhin M.A., Kononkova N.N., Somsikova A.V., Berndt J., Ludwig T., Medvedeva E.V., Hofmeister W. (2021) Sapphire-bearing magmatic rocks trace the boundary between paleo-continents: A case study of Ilmenogorsky alkaline complex, Uralian collision zone of Russia. Gondwana Research, 92, 239-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2021.01.001
2020
Korneeva A.A., Nekrylov N., Kamenetsky V.S., Portnyagin M.V., Savelyev D.P., Krasheninnikov S.P, Abersteiner A., Kamenetsky M.B., Zelenski M.E., Shcherbakov V.D., and Botcharnikov R.E. (2020) Composition, crystallization conditions and genesis of sulfide-saturated parental melts of olivine-phyric rocks from Kamchatsky Mys (Kamchatka, Russia). Lithos 370, 105657.
Qi, D., Behrens, H., Botcharnikov, R., Derrey, I., Holtz, F., Zhang, C., Li, X., and Horn, I. (2020) Reaction between Cu-bearing minerals and hydrothermal fluids at 800°C and 200 MPa: constraints from synthetic fluid inclusions. Am. Mineralogist , 105 (8), 1126-1139.
Litvinenko A.K., Sorokina E.S., Häger T., Kostitsyn Y.A., Botcharnikov R.E., Somsikova A.V., Ludwig T., Romashova T.V., and Hofmeister W. (2020) Petrogenesis of the Snezhnoe ruby deposit, Central Pamir. Minerals, 10: 478.
Helmy H. and Botcharnikov R. (2020) Experimental studies of the Pt and Pd antimonides and bismuthinides in sulphide systems between 1100 and 700°C and applications to nature. Am. Mineralogist , 105: 344-352.
Wang, M., Deng, J., Hou, T., Derrey, I., Botcharnikov, R.E., Liu, X., Zhang, C., Qi, D., Zhang, Z., and Holtz, F. (2020) Experimental evidence for a protracted enrichment of tungsten in evolved granitic melts: Implications for scheelite mineralization. Minerallium Deposita, 55(7), pp. 1299–1306.
2019
Portnyagin M.V., Mironov N.L., Botcharnikov R.E., Gurenko A.A., Almeev A.A., Holtz F. (2019) Dehydration of melt inclusions in olivine and the origin of silica-undersaturated island-arc melts. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 517:95-105.
Kötze, E., Schuth, S., Goldmann, S., Winkler, B., Botcharnikov, R.E., and Holtz, F. (2019) The mobility of palladium and platinum in the presence of humic acids: An experimental study. Chem Geol 514:65-78.
Filina, M.I.; Sorokina, E.S.; Botcharnikov, R.; Karampelas, S.; Rassomakhin, M.A.; Kononkova, N.N.; Nikolaev, A.G.; Berndt, J.; Hofmeister, W. (2019) Corundum anorthosites-kyshtymites from the South Urals, Russia: A combined mineralogical, geochemical, and U-Pb zircon geochronological study. Minerals, 9: 234.
2018
Koepke, J., Botcharnikov, R.E., and Natland, J.H. (2018) Crystallization of late-stage MORB under varying water activities and redox conditions: Implications for the formation of highly evolved lavas and oxide gabbro in the ocean crust. Lithos, 323: 58-77, doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2018.10.001.
Benard, A., Klimm, K., Woodland, A.B., Arculus, R.J., Wilke, M., Botcharnikov, R.E., Shimizu, N., Nebel, O., Rivard, C., and Ionov, D.A. (2018) Oxidizing agents in sub-arc mantle link slab devolatilization and arc magmas. Nature Communications, 9:3500, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05804-2.
Hughes, E., Buse, B., Kearns, S.L., Blundy, J.D., Kilgour, G., Mader, H.M., Brooker, R.A., Balzer, R., Botcharnikov, R.E., Di Genova, D., Almeev, R.R., and Riker, J.M. (2018) High spatial resolution analysis of the iron oxidation state in silicate glasses using the electron probe. Am. Mineralogist 103: 1473-1486.
Zhang, C., Almeev, R.R., Hughes, E., Borisov, A.A., Wolff, E.P., Höfer, H.E., Botcharnikov, R.E., and Koepke, J. (2018) Electron microprobe technique for the determination of iron oxidation state in silicate glasses. Am. Mineralogist 103: 1445-1454.
Savelyev, D.P., Kamenetsky, V.S., Danyushevsky, L.V., Botcharnikov, R.E., Kamenetsky, M.B., Park, J.-W., Portnyagin, M.V., Olin, P., Krasheninnikov, S.P., and Zelenski, M.E. (2018) Immiscible sulfide melts in primitive oceanic magmas: evidence and implications from the Cretaceous picrites (eastern Kamchatka, Russia). American
Mineralogist 103: 886–898, doi: 10.2138/am-2018-6352.
Ciazela, J., Koepke, J., Dick, H., Botcharnikov, R., Muszynski, A., Lazarov, M., Schuth, S., Pieterek, B., and Kuhn, T. (2018) Sulfide enrichment at an oceanic crust-mantle transition zone: Kane Megamullion (23°N, MAR). Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 230: 155-189. 10.1016/j.gca.2018.03.027.
Cottrell, L., Lanzirotti, A., Mysen, B., Birner, S., Kelley, K.A., Botcharnikov, R.E., Newville, M., Davis, F.A. (2018) A Mössbauer-based XANES calibration for hydrous basalt glasses reveals radiation-induced oxidation of Fe. American Mineralogist, v.103, 489-501. 10.2138/am-2018-6268.
Shishkina, T., Portnyagin, M., Botcharnikov, R.E., Almeev, R., Simonyan, A., Garbe-Schönberg, D., Schuth, S., Oeser, M. and Holtz, F. (2018) Experimental calibration and implications of olivine-melt vanadium oxybarometry for hydrous basaltic arc magmas. American Mineralogist, v.103, 369-383, doi.org/10.2138/am-2017-6210.
The electron microprobe is referred to in English as EMP (Electron Microprobe) or EPMA (Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer) and is based on a scanning electron microscope. However, it is equipped with 5 WDX spectrometers for quantitative analysis of major, minor, and trace element concentrations.
This allows the composition of the smallest areas to be analyzed non-destructively, meaning that even mineral grains measuring just a few micrometers can be analyzed in-situ (i.e., within the rock matrix) with high precision. In addition to rock samples, the smallest glass particles, gemstones, bones, teeth, skeletons of marine organisms, and much more can also be examined.
Electrons are emitted from a Schottky emitter. This is a special type of electron source based on thermally assisted field emission. It consists of a very finely tapered tungsten cathode coated with a small amount of zirconium oxide. This coating lowers the effective work function of the electrons at the metal surface.
The cathode is moderately heated and simultaneously exposed to a strong electric field. Through the combination of thermal energy and field emission, electrons can overcome the potential barrier at the tip and escape into the vacuum. The emission area is extremely small, resulting in very high beam density. Compared to conventional thermal electron sources, the Schottky emitter provides a particularly bright, stable, and low-energy electron beam. This enables high spatial resolution, good beam stability, and reproducible conditions, which are crucial for precise geochemical analyses in the electron microprobe.
The electrons thus generated are accelerated in a high vacuum by an electric potential of up to 30 kV toward the sample. On their way there, the charge carriers pass through a series of electromagnetic coils that shape and focus the beam before it strikes the sample. There, interaction occurs with the atoms of the different elements in the sample, which are excited to emit their specific X-ray radiation. The interaction volume is only a few cubic micrometers, depending on the acceleration voltage. The X-ray spectrometers function like X-ray filters and measure the number of X-ray pulses for a specific element sequentially (normalized to the measurement time and beam current). The measured intensities are then compared with measurements on reference materials (whose compositions have been well determined beforehand) and element concentrations are calculated from this. The matrix correction performed after the measurement is needed to correct for the mutual influence of the elements on one another.
In principle, the EMS can analyze elements from Be to Pu (see periodic table) in all solid materials, provided they are vacuum-stable and do not change under the influence of electron bombardment. For quantitative analyses, a very good surface polish is also mandatory. Non-conductive materials must be coated with a 15-20 nm thick carbon layer to prevent negative charging of the sample.
Two of the 5 wavelength-dispersive spectrometers operate with Ar/methane flow counters, which in combination with LDE1, LDEB, LDEC, TAP or TAPL, and PETL crystals are optimized for measuring light elements. The other spectrometers are equipped with Xe counters and a combination of PETL and LIFL crystals.
With the EDS system, it is possible to measure multiple elements simultaneously and thereby perform phase identification in a matter of seconds.
Contact: Dr. S. Buhre
X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) is used for material analysis. It serves for the qualitative and quantitative determination of the elemental composition of solid, liquid, or pasty samples, such as: rocks, soils, minerals, clays, ores, steels, alloys, glasses, ceramics, building materials, slags, plastics, pastes, and oils.
XRF is used in research and in quality and production control in industry. Depending on the equipment of the analytical instrument, the determination of elements from atomic number 4 (Be) to 92 (U) is possible. The measurement range, depending on the element and the matrix, extends from 0.0001 wt% to 100 wt%.
X-ray fluorescence analysis uses X-rays as primary radiation to excite a sample to be analyzed. Through interaction with the sample, secondary X-ray radiation (“fluorescence radiation”) is produced, which can be qualitatively and quantitatively determined after spectral decomposition by diffraction on a crystal. The wavelengths of this radiation are characteristic of the elements present in the sample. From the intensity of the characteristic radiation, the concentration of the elements to be determined can be calculated based on extensive correction and calibration programs.
In order to optimally address all questions, the spectrometer is equipped with various apertures, 3 collimators, 6 analyzer crystals (PX1, PE002, Ge111, PX9, LiF200, LiF220), and 3 detectors (flow, scintillation, and Xe proportional counters). This allows the best setting to be made for trace to major elements.
The main application at our institute is the determination of major and trace elements in geological samples. Special measurement programs (applications) are also created as needed. Semi-quantitative analyses on a wide variety of solids can be performed using the standardless measurement method IQ+ from Panalytical.
Contact: Dr. Stephan Buhre
Contact: Dr. Stephan Buhre
The Petrology work group has a piston-cylinder laboratory with two presses in a modified Boyd-England design. The equipment includes a 650-ton apparatus with a 1-inch piston diameter and a 250-ton press with a 0.5-inch piston diameter.
Both apparatus can generate pressures of up to 3.0 GPa (30,000 atmospheres) and reach temperatures of up to 1500 °C.
Our high-pressure laboratory also has a so-called multi-anvil apparatus. This can achieve pressures of up to 15 GPa (150,000 atmospheres) and temperatures of up to 2500 °C.
