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Updated: Jun 24, 2025

Clean Sampling and Analysis of River and Estuarine Waters for Trace Metal Studies
Published on: July 1, 2016
Sensitivity, precision, and accuracy of fs-LIBS for heavy metal detection in flowing aqueous solutions
Abstract:
This investigation employs femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (fs-LIBS) to measure the concentrations of chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and copper (Cu) in flowing aqueous solutions. The fs pulsed laser excites the water, generating plasma in a dynamic setting that prevents liquid splashing-a notable advantage over static methods. The flowing water column maintains a stable liquid level, circumventing the laser focus irregularities due to liquid-level fluctuations. Calibration curves, based on a linear function, reveal limits of detection (LODs) as low as 0.0179 μg/mL for Cr, 0.1301 μg/mL for Pb, and 0.0120 μg/mL for Cu. The reliability of the experiment is confirmed by R2 values exceeding 0.99. These findings offer valuable insights for the analysis of trace heavy metals in flowing aqueous solutions using fs-LIBS, demonstrating the technique's potential for environmental monitoring.
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