Atomic Spectroscopy

In honor of Spectroscopy's celebration of 30 years covering the latest developments in materials analysis, we asked a panel of experts to assess the current state of the art of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and to try to predict how technology will develop in the future.

Analysis of stainless steels and nickel alloys with handheld LIBS has proven challenging because Molybdenum – a key alloy element in the 0.5-3% level – is refractory and requires a much hotter plasma than many miniature, commercially available lasers can provide. A new proprietary laser design was utilized in a handheld LIBS analyzer and is shown to provide much better quantitative analysis of Mo down to 0.15% concentration.

In the agri-food sector it is important to not only study the soil composition and use of fertilizers, but also the uptake of nutrients and potentially toxic elements within the plants and crops themselves. Rigaku Application Note 1350 describes the analysis of agricultural soils and plant materials by EDXRF.

A novel adaptation to inductively coupled plasma–mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), mass cytometry provides researchers with a tool to study the complexity of biology at the single-cell level.

This work focuses on the analysis of precious metals in simulated digested precious metal buttons, with an added emphasis on assessing the lowest limits which can be accurately measured.

This work focuses on the determination of seven non-toxic elements usually found in drinking waters with the PerkinElmer PinAAcle 500 flame AA spectrometer.

This work demonstrates the ability of the PinAAcle 500 AA spectrometer to accurately measure copper, iron, and manganese in wine samples at levels which meet the regulations imposed by China for imported wine.

This paper describes the challenges faced by labs analyzing mercury in fish samples when using conventional technologies such as CVAA and ICP and how direct mercury analysis can overcome these challenges.

Due to its ability to absorb trace amounts of mercury, analysis of lichen is a potential model for mercury contamination in a micro-ecosystem modeling system. The purpose of this application note is to validate the capabilities of the QuickTrace® M-7600 Cold Vapor Atomic Absorbance (CVAA) mercury analyzer in the ug/L range.

The analysis of glass and raw materials is demonstrated in the manufacturing of soda-lime glass, which makes up 90% of the global glass production and is used to make windows, glassware and bottles. The Rigaku NEX CG spectrometer yields excellent performance for the elemental analysis of raw materials and final characterization of finished glass.

Typically, there are many target elements included in the testing of drinking water, such as sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). This note presents how ICPE spectrometry can provide accurate measurement of many elements, from those present at trace levels to those at high concentrations.

Ancient Roman builders designed maritime concrete harbor structures to remain intact in the aggressive seawater environment for very long periods of time.

Moxtek's ULTRA-LITE X-ray source is a very small self contained X-ray source (X-ray tube and high voltage power supply) for use in portable X-ray applications, such as the handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers.

This report introduces an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis for the detection of ppb levels of hazardous heavy elements in wastewater and river water using "Ultracarry®" high sensitivity micro-droplet filter paper and the "Ultradry™" vacuum dryer.

Single reaction chamber microwave digestion offers significant benefits over traditional microwave digestion for pharmaceutical samples: higher sample throughput, reduced labor and consumables costs, simplified workflow, and superior digestion quality.

Lasers have many different scientific uses. Some analytical scientists are advancing the use of laser-based techniques to analyze works of art and other ancient artifacts. Laser-ablation surface-enhanced Raman microspectroscopy (LA-SERS) can analyze art and artifacts to accurately identify the various components inside them. Spectroscopy recently spoke with Pablo Londero, an Associate Conservation Scientist at the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (IPCH) at Yale University, and Marco Leona, the head of scientific research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, about their work in this area.

Determination of trace metals in oil and petroleum typically is based on ICP-OES methods, requiring signficant sample preparation and expensive instrumentation. This article presents an alternative method, based on the use of a handheld energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analyzer, that involves minimal sample preparation, uses authentic standards for calibration, gives low parts-per-million detection limits, and provides significant time and cost savings.

The California Department of Public Health has proposed to establish the first regulatory limit in the United States for hexavalent chromium (chromium-6) in drinking water. The proposed Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) sets the limit for hexavalent chromium at 10 parts per billion. California, like those of other states and United States federal government, currently only regulates total chromium levels.

The new Savillex C400d PFA concentric nebulizer for ICP-MS combines the reliability of a low flow glass nebulizer with the chemical resistance and low elemental background of a PFA concentric nebulizer.

Sample matrices with high organic content have created a significant challenge for sample preparation methods.

This application note introduces an Application Package for quantitative analysis of additive elements in polymer.

This application note describes the capability of the Teledyne Leeman Lab's Prodigy7 High-Dispersion ICP for performing analysis according to SW-846 Method 6010C.

Moxtek now has a full energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence detector solution with Moxtek's XPIN detectors and our new MXDPP-50 electronics.

Demonstration of the advantages of using the Orbis micro-XRF elemental analyzer rather than other analysis techniques to perform elemental analysis through a plastic barrier and/or at atmospheric pressure.

SciAps has developed a handheld analyzer based on laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS).