Proposal for a new method to extract quartz from materials used for retrospective dosimetry and dating

Methods of luminescence induced by radiation, including thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence, have been widely used for the determination of accumulated dose in crystals for retrospective dosimetry and archaeological dating. The determination of the radiation dose begins with the extraction of quartz from the sample studied. The methodology commonly applies acids, such as HCl and HF, to remove other compounds present in the natural samples. In this work, the effectiveness of this method is questioned, and an alternative method for the extraction of quartz is proposed.

► We examined the efficiency of chemical treatments for quartz extraction.
► TL intensity may varies up to 300%, depending on the chemical treatment used to quartz extraction.
► HF does not eliminate feldspars from archaeological and retrospective dosimetric samples.
► HNO3 instead HF is suggested to extract quartz from samples in retrospective dosimetry and dating.