Development of a mobile fast-screening laser-induced breakdown detection (LIBD) system for field-based measurements of nanometre sized particles in aqueous solutions

Laser-induced breakdown detection (LIBD) is a promising method to detect trace amounts of nanoparticles (NP, < 100 nm) in aqueous suspensions. Based on available systems, we developed a mobile LIBD, designed for on-site and on-line measurements. We used the energy ratio of every laser pulse before and after passing the laser beam through the aqueous sample as a new method to detect laser-induced plasma events. The particle size and the particle number density are derived from recorded energy curves. Our LIBD is operated with a Nd: YAG laser at 100 Hz significantly reducing the measurement times compared to other LIBD systems operated at 20 Hz and increasing the capabilities for monitoring purposes. Long-term experiments on water samples revealed losses of NP up to 75% in 15 mL and 35% in 5 L sample containers after 3 months. The size of the particles remained constant (5 L) or slightly decreased (15 mL) indicating significant adsorption of NP to the walls of the sampling containers. Furthermore, we monitored the NP content of water after different purification steps at a drinking water plant (Maennedorf, Lake Zurich, Switzerland). Activated carbon filtration resulted in an increase of the particle size from similar to 20 nm to similar to 75 nm possibly caused by the release of organic fragments derived from the biology within the activated carbon tank. After the final ultrafiltration step the particle size was around 10 nm in agreement with the nominal cutoff of 100 kDa of the membrane. The results underline the strength of a fast-screening LIBD to detect relative changes in NP size and concentration.