Univariate and multivariate analyses of rare earth elements by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Univariate and multivariate analyses of six rare earth elements [cerium (Ce), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), and yttrium (Y)] have been performed using data from laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Binary mixtures of oxide forms of each rare earth element in an Al₂O₃ matrix with their concentrations varying from 1% to 10% by weight in powder form were used as working samples for univariate analysis. For multivariate analysis, complex mixtures of oxides of all these six rare earth elements and Al₂O₃ in powder form, where the concentration of each element oxide was varied from 1% to 50% by weight one by one, were used to record LIBS spectra. Optimum values of gate delay, gate width, and laser energy were used to get spectra from these samples and spectra were used to develop calibration models. The limits of detection for Ce, Eu, Gd, Nd, Sm, and Y were calculated to be 0.098%, 0.052%, 0.077%, 0.047%, 0.250%, and 0.036%, respectively, from the calibration curves.