Applications of Energy Dispersive X‐Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry and Direct Current Arc Atomic Emission Spectroscopy Methods for Grouping Study of Automobile Windshield Glasses for Glass Forensics

Abstract

AbstractA comprehensive evaluation was carried out for elemental characterization of automobile glasses having potential forensic application by Energy Dispersive X‐ray Fluorescence (ED‐XRF) spectrometry and Direct Current Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (DC Arc AES). The methods were optimized and validated using geological certified reference materials and glass standard reference material. Total seventeen elements including five major elements (Si, Na, Ca, Mg and Fe) and twelve minor and trace elements (Al, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Mo, Zr and Sr) were found to be present. Though DC Arc AES performed better for minor and trace level determination, however, the precision was evaluated as 15–20 % RSD. On the contrary, ED‐XRF performed better for major elements with 5–10 % RSD. The detection limits for the analytes prone to form refractory oxides on heating were found to be poorer in DC Arc AES compared to ED‐XRF. Statistical analyses were also performed to evaluate the reliability of the data obtained by the optimized methods. As a part of forensic applications, the elemental concentrations of minor and trace elements were utilized for the grouping study of the glass samples by cluster analysis using average linkage method.