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Pearson et al. [1] experimentally and theoretically (based on one-electron Hartree-Slater calculations) found that the intensities of L_2,3 white lines for most of the 3d and 4d transition metals decreased nearly linearly with increasing atomic number, reflecting the filling of the d states. Figure 3426a shows the deconvoluted and background-subtracted L_2,3 energy-loss spectra for the 4d transition metals. The edge energies are not shown in order to present all the spectra on the same figure, while the intensities of the white lines are scaled simultaneously for all elements. Note that different from the other 4d transition metals the L₂ and L₃ edges for Ag have no white lines.

Figure 3426a. The deconvoluted and background-subtracted L_2,3 energy-loss spectra for the 4d transition metals. [1]

In practical analytical measurements, Ag EELS signal is normally obtained from Ag M₄ edge (373 eV), which is in general a better choice than Ag EDS signal.

[1] D. H. Pearson, C. C. Ahn, and B.Fultz, White lines and d-electron occupancies for the 3d and 4d transition metals, Physical Review B, 47(14), (1993) 8471-8478.