硫化物矿物LA-ICP-MS激光剥蚀元素信号响应

采用193 nm ArF准分子激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)对5种天然硫化物矿物进行激光剥蚀分析, 基于不同硫化物矿物的剥蚀形貌特征和元素瞬时信号响应, 考察了硫化物矿物的元素分馏效应及激光频率、能量和激光斑径对硫化物矿物激光剥蚀行为的影响. 结果表明, 不同硫化物矿物的激光剥蚀形貌和元素分馏效应存在明显差异, 其中黄铁矿、辉钼矿和闪锌矿的剥蚀晕约为剥蚀斑径的10倍, 而黄铜矿和磁黄铁矿的剥蚀晕约为剥蚀斑径的14倍; 黄铜矿、磁黄铁矿和闪锌矿元素分馏因子(EFI)约为1.0, 其元素分馏效应可以忽略, 而黄铁矿和辉钼矿存在明显的元素分馏效应. 在对硫化物矿物的LA-ICP-MS分析中, 选择较大的激光剥蚀斑径、较小的激光剥蚀频率与激光能量可获得理想的信号强度和准确的分析结果.     

低温等离子体剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱联用对电路板镀层的深度分析

建立了基于低温等离子体(Low temperature plasma)剥蚀系统将固体样品直接引入电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)并用于电路板镀层中Au,Ni和Cu的深度分析.此实验中采用介质阻挡放电(DBD)方式产生低温等离子体探针,逐层剥蚀样品表面,由ICPMS检测元素信号.对DBD所用放电气体种类、外加电场功率、放电气体流速和采样深度等实验条件进行优化.在优化条件下,应用LTP-ICPMS在30 s内完成电路板镀层(20 μm Au/10 μm Ni/Cu基底)的逐层剥蚀和深度分析,元素种类和分层顺序与X射线光电子能谱(XpS)相吻合,镀层的分辨率可拓展至微米水平,表明此技术可直接用于固体样品的深度分析.     

激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱法中生物样品的元素分馏效应研究

采用213 nm-纳秒激光剥蚀系统对生物基体样品的剥蚀颗粒进行研究,优化了激光剥蚀条件.在剥蚀能量为25%,束斑直径为200 μm,剥蚀速率为20 μm/s,频率为20 Hz,载气为700 mL He + 700 mL Ar时,信号强度及稳定性最佳.以31P为内标元素,最佳剥蚀条件下,考察了56个元素的相对分馏因子.结果表明,生物基体的剥蚀颗粒相较于NIST 610 玻璃标样更大,达到3 μm;生物基体中元素分馏效应相较于玻璃基体小,大多数元素的相对分馏因子达到1.0 ±0.1.探讨了生物基体中元素分馏机理,分析了生物基体相较于玻璃基体剥蚀颗粒大,而相对分馏因子未明显增大的原因.一方面可能是粒径3 μm的颗粒进入电感耦合等离子体后能原子化;另一方面,大的剥蚀颗粒的富集效应相对较小.进一步对分馏效应的影响因素进行研究,发现分馏效应与激光剥蚀能量、激光频率和扫描速率相关,并且与元素的氧化物沸点负相关,与氧化物键能和电离能正相关.     

激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱小激光斑束线扫描定量分析技术

采用激光剥蚀-扇形磁场电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-SF-ICP-MS)技术建立了小激光斑束(15μm)线扫描定量分析方法。对比了硅酸盐矿物LA-ICP-MS分析中不同激光进样模式(点剥蚀和线扫描)对于元素信号强度和分馏效应的影响。小激光斑束点剥蚀分析元素信号强度随时间下降明显,并且剥蚀过程中元素深度分馏效应影响明显。深度分馏效应主要是由于各元素倾向于富集在不同粒径颗粒中,而不同大小颗粒在剥蚀坑附近发生冷凝沉淀的几率差异造成。实验结果表明,相对于内标元素Ca,Na、K、Cr、Co、Cd和U等元素富集在更小颗粒中;Cu、Zn、V、Mn、Fe、Ni、Tl、W、Rb、Cs等元素与Ca富集行为相似;Al、Y、Sc、Zr、Nb、Hf、Ta、Th和REE等元素易进入大颗粒中。线扫描分析具有高且稳定的元素信号强度,分析过程中剥蚀行为一致,不受深度剥蚀效应的影响。采用双剥蚀池结构进样系统研究单脉冲激光剥蚀信号结构,不同元素信号强度降低至50%需0.8~1.2 s;降低至20%需1.2~1.6 s;降低至背景值需2~3 s。本研究通过优化仪器参数降低信号叠加作用的影响,在均质和非均质样品(榍石)线扫描分析中,获得了准确的元素含量和元素比值。线扫描定量分析技术可有效降低激光斑束(≤15μm),相对于采用线扫描元素强度分布研究,数据更加直观,可表现元素比值的变化特征。通过调整激光斑束大小和扫描速度可在不同分辨率尺度下全面了解矿物中元素的分布特征。     

皮秒激光剥蚀固体进样系统的研制

研制了一款皮秒激光剥蚀固体进样系统(ps LA)。该装置由激光器、激光束聚焦系统、样品池、气溶胶传输系统、观察系统、样品移动平台等几部分组成。激光器的输出波长可选,有1064,532,355和266 nm 4种,脉冲宽度30 ps,脉冲频率20 Hz。选用266 nm的波长进行性能表征,脉冲能量可达3.0 m J,剥蚀坑呈圆形,边缘陡峭,空间分辨率小于30μm,时间分辨率小于2 s,单位脉冲剥蚀量为20 nm。该装置与ICP-MS联用可实现固体样品的直接分析。     

高温合金痕量分析中激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱的分馏效应机理研究

详细研究了高温合金样品剥蚀过程中激光脉冲能量及频率与高温合金痕量元素信号强度的变化及其稳定性、能量密度对信号稳定性的影响,实现了激光对样品表面的层层剥蚀,从而使高温合金中低沸点元素被稳定地蒸发,并初步建立了激光剥蚀过程中理想的样品激发动力学模型.研究表明,激光剥蚀的过程是一个在固-液-气的相变基础上进行的热蒸发过程,分馏效应是基于各元素不同的蒸发能而发生的低沸点元素的选择性蒸发;随着剥蚀的层层推进,热效应的累积导致样品表面气化层下方的固-液相变,低熔点元素出现局域富集从而使信号增强是分馏效应的另一原因.     

低温等离子体原子荧光光谱法直接测定固体样品中的汞

建立了低温等离子体(LTP)与原子荧光光谱仪(AFS)联用直接检测ABS固体样品中Hg的方法.实验采用介质阻挡放电(DBD)方式产生低温等离子体,剥蚀固体样品后产生的元素蒸气引入到原子荧光光谱仪进行检测.优化的实验条件为:DBD外接电源的放电功率为16～18 W,放电气体流速为400 mL/min;采样距离为1～5 mm;原子荧光光谱仪的原子化器高度为10 mm.本系统测定Hg的检出限为0.91 mg/kg,线性范围为91.5～1096 mg/kg;精密度(RSD,n=7)为1.9％～2.3％,并对标准样品以及实际样品进行测定,测定结果与标准值与ICPMS及CVG-AFS一致,表明本方法可作为直接检测固体样品的新型元素分析技术.     

193nm ArF准分子激光剥蚀系统高空间分辨率下元素分馏研究

研究了193 nm ArF准分子激光剥蚀系统高空间分辨率下的仪器检出限、ICP质量负载元素分馏、剥蚀深度/束斑直径元素分馏以及基体效应,并在10 μm束斑直径下分析了GSD-1G、StHs6/80-G和NIST612中的微量元素.结果表明,仪器检出限随束斑直径的减小而升高,当束斑直径降低至7 μm时,部分微量元素的仪器检出限为1～10 μg/g.ICP质量负载元素分馏指数与元素第一电离能呈正相关和元素氧化物熔点呈负相关.当剥蚀深度与束斑直径比小于1∶1时,由剥蚀深度/束斑直径引起的元素分馏效应可以忽略不计.基体效应研究表明,50 μm与10 μm激光束斑下基体效应没有明显的差别.以NIST610为校准物质,Ca为内标元素,10 μm束斑直径下GSD-1G、StHs6/80-G和NIST612中的36种微量元素分析结果与定值基本吻合,分析结果与定值基本匹配.综合考虑在10 μm的空间分辨率下,该技术可满足准确分析微量元素的要求.     

激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱在生物样品定量分析中的研究进展

激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)作为一种可以直接分析固体材料的元素含量和同位素比值的分析技术,已经历了30多年的迅速发展。本文首先简要介绍了LA-ICP-MS的仪器装置,之后阐述了LA-ICP-MS定量分析中的基体效应、分馏效应以及定量校正方法,重点介绍了其在生物医学研究中的应用。最后对LA-ICP-MS的发展方向和应用前景进行了展望。     

激光剥蚀-多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱法 测定含钚颗粒物中240 Pu/239 Pu比值

为高精度、准确地获取含钚颗粒物中具有核保障监督意义和核取证价值的钚同位素比值,建立了激光剥蚀-多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-MC-ICP-MS)测定含钚颗粒物中240 Pu/239 Pu的分析方法.采用检漏、安装排风罩和擦拭剥蚀池内壁等方式有效降低激光剥蚀产物沾污实验室和危及人身安全的潜在风险.联用扫描电迁移率粒径谱仪(SMPS)与激光剥蚀-多接收器等离子体质谱(LA-MC-ICP-MS)研究了激光剥蚀玻璃基体标样产生气溶胶的分布特性,结果表明,剥蚀产物的主要粒径是40~500 nm,应尽量采用水平管道连接激光剥蚀进样系统与MC-ICP-MS,含钚颗粒物分析后剥蚀池持续吹扫时间应大于15 min.采用外标归一化法离线校正质量分馏效应和离子计数器检测效率,建立了含钚颗粒物中240 Pu/239 Pu的LA-MC-ICP-MS分析方法,固定束斑直径30μm、脉冲重复率5 Hz、剥蚀时间5 s,调节能量密度使含钚颗粒物模拟样品中239 Pu的信号强度分别达2×104 cps和2×105 cps,本方法对240 Pu/239 Pu测量的相对实验标准不确定度小于1.4%(n=6),测量结果与参考值的相对偏差小于4.7%,仪器调试时间和单个样品测量时间分别为9.0和0.5 h.含钚颗粒物模拟样品分析结果表明,本方法精度高、结果准确、分析速度快,可满足核保障监督、禁产核查和核取证中含钚颗粒物直接分析的需求.     

Recent trends and developments in laser ablation-ICP-mass spectrometry

The increased interest in laser technology (e.g. for micro-machining, for medical applications, light shows, CD-players) is a tremendous driving force for the development of new laser types and optical set-ups. This directly influences their use in analytical chemistry. For direct analysis of the elemental composition of solids, mostly solid state lasers, such as Nd:YAG laser systems operating at 1064 nm (fundamental wavelength), 266 nm (frequency quadrupled) and even 213 nm (frequency quintupled) have been investigated in combination with all available inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers. The trend towards shorter wavelengths (1064 nm– 157 nm) was initiated by access to high quality optical materials which led to the incorporation of UV gas lasers, such as excimer lasers (XeCl 308 nm, KrF 248 nm, ArF 193 nm, and F₂ 157 nm) into laser ablation set-ups. The flexibility in laser wavelengths, output energy, repetition rate, and spatial resolution allows qualitative and quantitative local and bulk elemental analysis as well as the determination of isotope ratios. However, the ablation process and the ablation behavior of various solid samples are different and no laser wavelength was found suitable for all types of solid samples. This article highlights some of the successfully applied systems in LA-ICP-MS. The current fields of applications are explained on selected examples using 266 nm and 193 nm laser ablation systems.     

Recent trends and developments in laser ablation-ICP-mass spectrometry

The increased interest in laser technology (e.g. for micro-machining, for medical applications, light shows, CD-players) is a tremendous driving force for the development of new laser types and optical set-ups. This directly influences their use in analytical chemistry. For direct analysis of the elemental composition of solids, mostly solid state lasers, such as Nd:YAG laser systems operating at 1064 nm (fundamental wavelength), 266 nm (frequency quadrupled) and even 213 nm (frequency quintupled) have been investigated in combination with all available inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers. The trend towards shorter wavelengths (1064 nm - 157 nm) was initiated by access to high quality optical materials which led to the incorporation of UV gas lasers, such as excimer lasers (XeCl 308 nm, KrF 248 nm, ArF 193 nm, and F2 157 nm) into laser ablation set-ups. The flexibility in laser wavelengths, output energy, repetition rate, and spatial resolution allows qualitative and quantitative local and bulk elemental analysis as well as the determination of isotope ratios. However, the ablation process and the ablation behavior of various solid samples are different and no laser wavelength was found suitable for all types of solid samples. This article highlights some of the successfully applied systems in LA-ICP-MS. The current fields of applications are explained on selected examples using 266 nm and 193 nm laser ablation systems.     

Laser defocusing effects on laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry: different ablation interactions between the laser and low-alloy steel, Fe pellets, and a pond sediment pellet.

The ablation interaction between a laser and solid samples, which affects the analytical performance for laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (LA-ICP-AES), was studied. The emission intensities of elements observed by LA-ICP-AES (LA-ICP-AES element signal intensities) for different solid samples were measured under different laser defocusing conditions with a fixed laser output energy. It was found that the optimum laser defocusing conditions were dependent on the different solid samples with different sample characteristics, and also on the different elements with different elemental characteristics in each solid sample. A low-alloy steel, pellets containing different Fe concentrations (0 - 100% Fe pellet), and a pond sediment pellet were used as different solid samples. The variations of the LA-ICP-AES Fe signal intensities observed under different laser defocus conditions were completely different between the low-alloy steel and the pond sediment pellet. The changes in the LA-ICP-AES Fe signal intensities for 90 and 100% Fe pellets were similar to that of the low-alloy steel. However, pellets with lower Fe concentrations (less than 70%) showed different trends and the defocusing behavior became closer to that of the pond sediment pellet. The LA-ICP-AES signal intensities of other elements were also evaluated, and were compared for different solid samples and different defocusing behavior. It was observed that the changes in the LA-ICP-AES signal intensities of almost all elements in the pond sediment pellet showed a similar trend to those of Fe for different laser defocus positions; that is, the elemental fractionation for these elements in the pond sediment pellet seemed to be relatively small. On the contrary, it was found that the LA-ICP-AES Si, Ti, and Zr signal intensities for low-alloy steel showed different trends compared to those of other elements, including Fe, under different defocusing conditions; that is, the elemental fractionation observed for the low-alloy steel was larger than that of the pond sediment pellet. From these results, different ablation interactions between the laser and the different solid samples were considered, and attributed to the sample characteristics, such as the matrix, hardness, and conductivity. Elemental fractionation was attempted to be explained by using elemental characteristics, such as the melting point and ionization energy of the elements.     

Size-related vaporisation and ionisation of laser-induced glass particles in the inductively coupled plasma

Ongoing discussions about the origin of elemental fractionation occurring during LA-ICP-MS analysis show that this problem is still far from being well understood. It is becoming accepted that all three possible sources (ablation, transport, excitation) contribute to elemental fractionation. However, experimental data about the vaporisation size limit of different particles in the ICP, as produced in laser ablation, have not been available until now. This information should allow one to determine the signal contributing mass within the ICP and would further clarify demands on suitable laser ablation systems and gas atmospheres in terms of their particle size distribution.The results presented here show a vaporisation size limit of laser induced particles, which was found at particle sizes between 90 nm and 150 nm using an Elan 6000 ICP-MS. Due to the fact that the ICP-MS response was used as evaluation parameter, vaporisation and ionisation limits are not distinguishable.The upper limit was determined by successively removing the larger particles from the aerosol, which was created by ablation of a NIST 610 glass standard at a wavelength of 266 nm, using a recently developed particle separation device. Various particle fractions were separated from the aerosol entering the ICP. The decrease in signal intensity is not proportional to the decrease in volume, indicating that particles above 150 nm in diameter are not completely ionised in the ICP. Due to the limited removal range of the particle separation device, which cannot remove particles smaller than 150 nm, single hole ablations were used to determine the lower vaporisation limit. This is based on measurements showing that larger particles occur dominantly during the first 100 laser pulses only. After this period, the ratio of ICP-MS counts and total particle volume was found to be constant while most of the particles are smaller than 90 nm, indicating complete vaporisation and ionisation of these particles.To describe the influence of different plasma forward powers on the vaporisation limit, the range 1000–1600 W was studied. Results indicate that optimum vaporisation and ionisation occurs at 1300 W. However, an increase of the particle ionisation limit towards larger particles was not observed within the accuracy of this study using the full range of parameters available for optimisation on commonly used ICP-MS instruments.     

Characterizing ablation and aerosol generation during elemental fractionation on absorption modified lithium tetraborate glasses using LA-ICP-MS

The influence of sample matrix composition, absorption behavior and laser aerosol particle size distribution on elemental fractionation in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was studied for nanosecond laser ablation at a wavelength of 266 nm. To this end, lithium tetraborate glass samples with different iron oxide contents and trace amounts of a group of 11 elements were prepared synthetically. The samples were characterized in terms of optical absorbance, melting points, trace element concentrations and homogeneity. UV/VIS spectra showed that sample absorption rises with increasing Fe₂O₃ content. Crater depths and time-dependent particle size distributions were measured, and ablated and transported sample volumes were estimated. Furthermore, the laser aerosol was filtered using a particle separation device and transient ICP-MS signals were acquired with and without filtering the aerosol. The results demonstrate that the amount of ablated sample is related to the absorption coefficient of the sample and therefore to the optical penetration depth of the laser beam into the sample. The higher energy densities resulting from the shorter penetration depths result in smaller average particle sizes for highly absorbing samples, which allows more efficient transport to and atomization and excitation of the ablated material within the ICP. The particle size distribution changes continuously with ablation time, and larger particle fractions occur mainly at the beginning of the ablation, which leads to particle-related fractionation processes at the beginning of the transient signal. Exceeding a critical depth to diameter ratio, laser-related elemental fractionation processes occur. Changes in the volatile to non-volatile element intensity ratio after the aerosol is filtered indicate that particle size-related enrichment processes contribute to elemental fractionation.     

Laser microsampling and multivariate methods in provenance studies of obsidian artefacts

The provenance of obsidian artefacts and raw materials was studied by the multivariate statistical analysis of forty-five samples using elemental composition data obtained by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). One ICP-MS instrument equipped with a quadrupole mass filter and the other based on a time-of-flight analyser were coupled to the same type of laser ablation device (Nd:YAG 213 nm), thereby affording a comparison of the different mass spectrometers in terms of precision and verification of the consistency of the results. The influence of surface roughness (polished raw material vs artefact) and microinhomogeneity on the LA-ICP-MS signal was studied under the optimised working conditions of the laser ablation device. Principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, independent component analysis, multi-dimensional scaling, Sammon mapping and fuzzy cluster analysis were applied and compared in order to reveal statistically significant compositional differences between particular geological sites and to disclose the provenance of the raw materials used in manufacture of the artefacts. Twenty-seven artefacts and eighteen raw material samples from natural resources in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Mexico and Nicaragua were examined with special attention focused on samples from Moravia (Czech Republic) and some Near East sites (Tell Arbid, Tell Asmar). The Carpathian origin of the obsidian artefacts was investigated in the Moravian samples using the Pb, Rb and U contents. The Near East samples were classified according to their Sr, Ba, Zr and REE contents as per-alkaline obsidians (Bingöl A/Nemrut Da?) originating from Southeast Anatolia.     

A new laser ablation system for quantitative analysis of solid samples with ICP-MS.

The laser ablation (LA) method is an effective technique for quantitative analysis. In the present work, a new LA system was developed for the high-sensitivity analysis of metal materials using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This system consists of a high-frequency Q-switched laser and 2 scanning mirrors for scanning the ablation spot in an adequately large area of the specimen without vacant spaces. The influence of elemental fractionation (non-stoichiometric generation of vapor species) can be eliminated by repetitive irradiation of this pattern on the same area. Particles generated with an average laser power of 0.6 W with the developed LA system gave intensity and stability substantially similar to that of a 500 microg/ml solution steel sample in solution ICP-MS. The analytical performance of the developed LA-ICP-MS was compared with that of a solution ICP-MS using NIST steel SRMs. The performance of the newly-developed system is comparable to that of conventional solution ICP-MS in both accuracy and precision. The correlation coefficients between the contents and the intensity ratios to Fe were over 0.99 for most elements. The relative standard deviation (RSD) obtained by LA-ICP-MS revealed that this system can analyze iron samples with good precision. The results of ultra trace level analysis of high-purity iron showed that developed LA-ICP-MS is capable of analyzing ppm concentration levels with a 20 - 30 ppb level standard deviation. The detection limit was on the order of 10 ppb for most elements.     

Evaluation of the analytical capability of NIR femtosecond laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

A laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometric (LA-ICPMS) technique utilizing a titanium-sapphire (TiS) femtosecond laser (fs-laser) has been developed for elemental and isotopic analysis. The signal intensity profile, depth of the ablation pit and level of elemental fractionation were investigated in order to evaluate the analytical capability of the present fs-laser ablation-ICPMS technique. The signal intensity profile of (57)Fe, obtained from iron sulfide (FeS(2)), demonstrated that the resulting signal intensity of (57)Fe achieved by the fs-laser ablation was almost 4-times higher than that obtained by ArF excimer laser ablation under a similar energy fluence (5 J/cm(2)). In fs-laser ablation, there is no significant difference in a depth of the ablation pit between glass and zircon material, while in ArF laser ablation, the resulting crater depth on the zircon crystal was almost half the level than that obtained for glass material. Both the thermal-induced and particle size-related elemental fractionations, which have been thought to be main sources of analytical error in the LA-ICPMS analysis, were measured on a Harvard 91500 zircon crystal. The resulting fractionation indexes on the (206)Pb/(238)U (f(Pb/U)) and (238)U/(232)Th (f(U/Th)) ratios obtained by the present fs-laser ablation system were significantly smaller than those obtained by a conventional ArF excimer laser ablation system, demonstrative of smaller elemental fractionation. Using the present fs-laser ablation technique, the time profile of the signal intensity of (56)Fe and the isotopic ratios ((57)Fe/(54)Fe and (56)Fe/(54)Fe) have been measured on a natural pyrite (FeS(2)) sample. Repeatability in signal intensity of (56)Fe achieved by the fs-laser ablation system was significantly better than that obtained by ArF excimer laser ablation. Moreover, the resulting precision in (57)Fe/(54)Fe and (56)Fe/(54)Fe ratio measurements could be improved by the fs-laser ablation system. The data obtained here clearly demonstrate that, even with the fundamental wavelength (NIR operating at 780 nm), the fs-laser ablation system has the potential to become a significant tool for in-situ elemental and isotopic analysis of geochemical samples including heavy minerals and metallic materials.