Capabilities of femtosecond laser ablation ICP-MS for the major, minor, and trace element analysis of high alloyed steels and super alloys.

Wiltsche, Helmar; Günther, Detlef

Femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used for the quantification of 23 metallurgical relevant elements in unalloyed, alloyed and highly alloyed steels, and super alloys. It was shown that by using scanning mode ablation with large ablation spot diameters (250 μm), stable and representative sampling can be achieved for the majority of elements, except for bismuth and lead. For Bi and Pb up to 46%, temporal relative standard deviation (TRSD) was encountered, whereas for most other elements, the TRSDs were below 10%. Calibration with matrix-matched and non-matrix-matched standards provided similar agreement within the uncertainty of the certified values. However, the non-matrix-matched standard-based quantification was more influenced by interferences rather than ablation- or excitation-related matrix effects. The method was validated using 34 certified reference materials. Cr, V, or Mn were used as internal standards due to the fact that the Fe concentration was not certified for the majority of reference materials. The determined concentrations for major and minor elements indicate that the total matrix internal standardization (100 wt.%) is applicable, which requires no knowledge about the steel samples prior to analysis. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

LASER ablation; FEMTOSECOND lasers; INDUCTIVELY coupled plasma mass spectrometry; CHROMIUM-cobalt-nickel-molybdenum alloys; STEEL; CALIBRATION

Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2011, Vol 399, Issue 6, p2167

1618-2642

Academic Journal

10.1007/s00216-010-4605-8