Relative K x-ray intensity studies on valence-electron structure of Ti and Co in TixCo1-x alloys

K alpha-to-K beta x-ray intensity ratios of Ti and Co in pure metals and in alloys of TixCo1-x (x = 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, and 0.3) have been measured for understanding the charge-transfer and delocalization phenomena in the TixCo1-x alloys using the energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence technique. The valence-electron structure of Ti and Co in the samples have been evaluated by the comparison of the measured K alpha-to-K beta x-ray intensity ratios with the results of multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock calculations for various electron structures of these metals. Significant changes in the 3d electron population (with respect to the pure metal) are observed for Ti and Co in different alloy compositions. Our analysis indicates that these changes can be explained by assuming the transfer of 3d electrons from one element to the other element (charge transfer) and/or the rearrangement of electrons between 3d and 4s,4p states (delocalization) of the individual metal atoms.