Elemental study of Devarda’s alloy using calibration free-laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF‒LIBS)

Abstract

In the present study, we present the compositional analysis of a Devarda’s alloy using the calibration–free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) technique. A nanosecond pulsed Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was focused on the target-sample under investigation to ablate its surface and the measured emission spectrum was registered by using a spectrometer (LIBS2000+) having the optical spectral within a range from 200–720 nm. The analysis of the measured optical spectra confirms the presence of three major elements Aluminum (Al), Copper (Cu), and Zinc (Zn) in the target sample. The emission intensity line profiles of Zn, Cu, and Al were utilized to estimate the plasma-parameters consisting of excitation temperature, and the plasma number density. The plasma excitation temperature was investigated using the Boltzmann-plot technique, which yields the temperature for Cu and Zn as 8547 ± 5% K and 8100 ± 5%, respectively, while the electron plasma density was calculated from the Stark-broadening of individual neutral emission lines of Al, Cu, and Zn. For the quantitative analysis of the elements that exist in the target sample, a CF-LIBS technique was employed by assuming the condition of optically thin plasma as well as local thermodynamics equilibrium. Using the CF-LIBS technique, the relative composition in the form of weight percentage was estimated to be Zn: 57%, Al: 39%, and Cu: 4%, whereas, the certified concentration of Devarda’s alloy was 50% for Zn, 45% for Al, and 5% for Cu. These measured results reveal that the elemental concentration utilizing CF-LIBS shows a reasonable agreement with standard estimates illustrated by the manufacturer. This study further suggests that the CF-LIBS technique opens up an opportunity for engineering and industrial usage of LIBS where a quantifiable study of the substance is exceedingly advantageous.

Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in the analysis of metals, chemicals and materials

“…Iqbal et al have used calibration-free LIBS with a commercial spectrometer to measure the composition of Devarda's alloy (an AlZnCu material). 39 The intensity line profiles of these elements were used to calculate plasma diagnostics, e.g. electron number density (obtained from the Stark broadening of individual emission lines of the analytes) and excitation temperature (obtained using the Boltzmann plot technique).…”

Effect of laser pulse energy on atomic lines and molecular bands in femtosecond LIBS of aluminum

“…LIBS technology is not only suitable for analyzing the characteristic spectra of atoms and ions in substances, but also for analyzing the characteristic spectral bands of molecules [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. At present, the detection of atomic and ionic spectra in plasma is the research focus of LIBS technology.…”

Spectroscopical Characterization of Copper–Iron (Cu-Fe) Alloy Plasma Using LIBS, ICP-AES, and EDX

“…The LIBS system has been employed for both quantitative and qualitative analyses throughout the past couple of decades. The most commonly used techniques for alloy composition measurements include X-ray fluorescence-spectroscopy (XRF), photoelectric direct reading spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) [13]. These techniques are costly, required for the sample preparation, time consuming, as well relative to LIBS.…”