A study of laser ablation and slurry nebulisation sample introduction for the analysis of geochemical materials by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry

Summary The performances of two alternative sample introduction methods for use with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) have been evaluated for the analysis of the same sample material. The laser ablation sample introduction system is based on a Nd:YAG laser to which an x-y-z translational sampling head had been added. A study has been made of a number of parameters which affect the performance of the system to find the optimum operating conditions. The slurry introduction system involved aspirating the slurries into the plasma using a de Galan nebuliser and a Scott-type spray chamber arrangement. A study has been made of the parameters which control the production of stable homogeneous slurries. Initial particle size measurements have been carried out on the slurried samples to show how this affects this method of sample introduction. Results are presented for the analysis of a South African reference material rock sample (SARM 5) by ICP-OES with both laser ablation and slurry nebulisation sample introduction and some preliminary results for the analysis by ICP-MS with laser ablation introduction. Semi-quantitative results are obtained for laser ablation ICP-OES as only one matrix matched standard is used. However, the agreement between the results obtained for slurry nebulisation and the certificate value is poor. It is suggested by comparison with previous studies that this may be due to particle size effects. Encouraging results were obtained for the determination of trace elements by laser ablation ICP-MS.