Selective Vaporization in Laser Ablation Solid Sampling for Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission and Mass Spectrometry of Steels

Abstract

A laser ablation technique has been studied as a versatile method of direct solid sampling for subsequent elemental analysis. It has been successfully coupled with analytical techniques such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS)1-3, microwave-induced4, direct currents, and inductively coupled6,7 plasma atomic emission spectrometry (MIP-, DCP-and ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).8-1° These tandem methods have a number of advantages such as high sensitivity, little or no sample preparation, small amount of samples required and the ability to analyze both conductive and nonconductive solids.We recently investigated laser ablation/ ICP-AES and ICP-MS in order to develop a rapid method for solid analysis. 7'8' 11,12 In these reports we showed that fractional vaporization, which limited analytical precision and accuracy, occurred during the ablation process. On the other hand, Hager10 indicated in a report on laser ablation/ ICP-MS that differences in the response factors were observed between free-running and Q-switched laser modes of operation • and that more uniform responses were obtained with the Q-switching mode. Thompson et a1.13 also showed that the matrix effect associated with an ablation event can be minimized with a maximum Q-switched laser. These results show that the magnitude of selective vaporization depends on the types of laser pulses.The present work aimed at investigating the laser dependence of selective vaporization. The use of six types of the laser pulses (three types of lasers each at two different running modes) was compared by collecting ablated particles, followed by analyzing them with solution-based ICP-AES or ICP-MS. Experimental Apparatus and operating conditionsThe operating conditions of the three types of lasers are shown in Table 1, together with the amounts of ablated

Measurement of Inclusion Size by Laser Ablation ICP Mass Spectrometry

“…19) The data obtained at different operating parameters are corrected by using the following procedure. The corrected ion intensity of isotope for a given set of operating parameters p 2 are the mean ion intensities of isotope for M element in a given glass standard sample obtained at different sets of operating parameters p 1 and p 2 , respectively. f p M, p 2 is the correction factor of M ele- It was observed that the sensitivity of ion signal in LA-ICP-MS decreased during operation time.…”

“…Up to now, LA-ICP-MS has been used for direct analysis of total composition for steels, [1][2][3][4] ceramics and rocks [5][6][7][8] and for determination of element concentrations in fluid inclusions in minerals and rocks. [9][10][11][12][13] In previous report, 14,15) it was found that LA-ICP-MS can be successfully applied to the composition analysis of inclusions in metals in the range of particle diameter from 1 to 100 mm.…”

Simultaneous Determination of the Composition and Size of Oxide Particles in Solid Materials by Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

“…The laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (LA-ICP-AES) and the laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are known as the well-accepted analytical techniques in view of the quick analysis of solid samples with high precision, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] which was reported as approximately 5 to 10% for most of elements. 5,11) The utilization of these methods has been reported often for direct analysis of total composition of steels, [1][2][3][4][5]11,14) ceramics and rocks 7,9,10,16) and for determination of element segregation in minerals and rocks.…”

“…5,11) The utilization of these methods has been reported often for direct analysis of total composition of steels, [1][2][3][4][5]11,14) ceramics and rocks 7,9,10,16) and for determination of element segregation in minerals and rocks. 6,8,12,13,15,16) Mochizuki et al, 3) Akiyoshi et al 4) and Ishibashi 5,11,14) investigated the favorable condition of the laser ablation in detail, and applied LA-ICP-AES to the in-situ analysis of steel matrix in steelmaking plant.…”

Quantitative Analysis of Total and Insoluble Elements and Inclusion Composition in Metal by Laser Ablation ICP-MS Method.

“…The laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has been successfully applied to the direct analysis of steel composition [1][2][3][4][5][6] and to the determination of trace element concentrations in geological minerals and rocks. [7][8][9][10][11][12] The LA-ICP-MS technique is characterized by the quick analysis with high precision (approximately 5 to 15% for most of elements).…”