Can electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) be used to quantify hydrogen in minerals from the O K edge?

The proposition has been made and is now gaining popular acceptance that electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) attached to a transmission electron microscope (TEM) can be used to semiquantitatively measure H in minerals-specifically, that there is a pre-peak to the O K edge near 530 eV whose intensity is a measure of H concentration in OH- and H₂O- bearing minerals. I show here that the O K edges from H-bearing minerals, free of electron-beam damage, lack, a peak near 530 eV. Instead, under electron irradiation, in the TEM, a transient peak, near 530 eV can form in H-bearing as well as anhydrous minerals. The intensity of the transient peak is dependent on total fluence and fluence rate. The origin of the radiation-induced peak at 530 eV is from O₂ liberated during damage by the incident, electron beam. In conclusion, there is no evidence for an OH peak near 530 eV from H-bearing minerals.