Highly sensitive detection of sodium in aqueous solutions using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with liquid sheet jets

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with liquid jets was applied to the detection of trace sodium (Na) in aqueous solutions. The sensitivities of two types of liquid jets were compared: a liquid cylindrical jet with a diameter of 500 mu m and a liquid sheet jet with a thickness of 20 mu m. Compared with the cylindrical jet, the liquid sheet jet effectively reduced the splash from the laser-irradiated surface and produced long-lived luminous plasma. The limit of detection (LOD) of Na was determined to be 0.57 mu g/L for the sheet jet and 10.5 mu g/L for the cylindrical jet. The LOD obtained for the sheet jet was comparable to those obtained for commercially available inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometers. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with liquid jets was used to detect trace sodium (Na) in aqueous solutions. The study compared the sensitivities of a liquid cylindrical jet and a liquid sheet jet, finding that the liquid sheet jet reduced splash and produced long-lived luminous plasma more effectively than the cylindrical jet. The limit of detection (LOD) for Na was 0.57 μg/L for the sheet jet and 10.5 μg/L for the cylindrical jet, with the LOD for the sheet jet being comparable to commercially available inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometers.