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Quantitative Analysis of Vacuum Induction Melting by Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
Published on: June 10, 2019
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Quantifying Platinum and Palladium in Solid Ore Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Assisted by the
Ismail Elhamdaoui1, Samira Selmani1, Mohamad Sabsabi2
1Institut National de la Recherche Scientifque, Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications, Varennes, Quebec, Canada.
Applied Spectroscopy
|November 1, 2023
Summary
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy assisted by laser-induced fluorescence (LIBS-LIF) offers a highly sensitive method for measuring platinum (Pt) in ore. This advanced technique achieves a low limit of detection (LOD), significantly outperforming conventional LIBS.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Geochemistry
Background:
- Accurate elemental analysis of precious metals in geological samples is crucial for mining and resource evaluation.
- Conventional Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) often suffers from low signal-to-noise ratios and spectral interferences, limiting its application for trace element detection.
- Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) can enhance LIBS sensitivity by selectively exciting specific atomic emissions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of a two-step Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy assisted by Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIBS-LIF) technique for quantifying platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) in solid ore cores.
- To compare the performance of LIBS-LIF with conventional LIBS and established laboratory chemical methods for Pt and Pd analysis.
- To demonstrate the capability of LIBS-LIF for trace-level detection of Pt in geological samples.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a two-step LIBS-LIF process for surface analysis of solid ore cores and subsequently pulverized, compacted samples from the Lac des Iles mine.
- Optimized excitation (235.71 nm) and emission (269.84 nm) wavelengths for Pt detection.
- Performed calibration using synthetic samples derived from the same ore matrix.
Main Results:
- Achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of approximately 0.15 ppm for Pt using LIBS-LIF, a significant improvement over conventional LIBS (21 ppm).
- Demonstrated good linearity in the Pt calibration curve over several orders of magnitude.
- LIBS-LIF results for Pt showed good agreement with both solid and pulverized ore analyses, as well as conventional chemical methods.
Conclusions:
- LIBS-LIF is a highly effective and sensitive technique for the trace analysis of platinum in solid ore samples, surpassing conventional LIBS.
- The method provides reliable Pt concentration measurements comparable to traditional laboratory techniques.
- While promising for Pt, LIBS-LIF showed less satisfactory agreement for Pd, likely due to its inhomogeneous distribution in the ore.
Keywords:
LIBSLIFLODLaser-induced breakdown spectroscopyPGEconcentration measurementlaser-induced fluorescencelimit of detectionplatinum group elementssolid ore coreMore Related Videos
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