The Kα transition in compounds of sulphur

Abstract

It is shown that the position of the Kα doublet for the sulphur atom will depend upon the number of electrons in the outer (M) shell. Detailed calculations, which are to some extent exploratory, are presented. They use orthogonalized Slater orbitals, and the optimum orbital exponent is chosen for the M-shell orbitals. These calculations show that the Kα doublet should shift by about -0·25 ev for S-- and +6·95 ev for S6+. This shift, which is measured relative to the Kα doublet for neutral sulphur, enables reasonable estimates to be made of the number of outer-shell electrons in sulphides, sulphites and sulphates. Some small changes may be required later in the numerical values, when certain refinements, not included in the present calculations, are incorporated in the analysis.