Quantitative Analysis of Cerium-Gallium Alloys Using a Hand-Held Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Device
1
Air Force Institute of Technology, 2950 Hobson Way, WPAFB, OH 45433, USA
2
Institute for Nuclear Security, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
3
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Atoms 2019, 7(3), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms7030084
Received: 26 July 2019
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Revised: 20 August 2019
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Accepted: 20 August 2019
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Published: 22 August 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Plasma Spectroscopy Applications)
A hand-held laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy device was used to acquire spectral emission data from laser-induced plasmas created on the surface of cerium-gallium alloy samples with Ga concentrations ranging from 0–3 weight percent. Ionic and neutral emission lines of the two constituent elements were then extracted and used to generate calibration curves relating the emission line intensity ratios to the gallium concentration of the alloy. The Ga I 287.4-nm emission line was determined to be superior for the purposes of Ga detection and concentration determination. A limit of detection below 0.25% was achieved using a multivariate regression model of the Ga I 287.4-nm line ratio versus two separate Ce II emission lines. This LOD is considered a conservative estimation of the technique’s capability given the type of the calibration samples available and the low power (5 mJ per 1-ns pulse) and resolving power ( / = 4000) of this hand-held device. Nonetheless, the utility of the technique is demonstrated via a detailed mapping analysis of the surface Ga distribution of a Ce-Ga sample, which reveals significant heterogeneity resulting from the sample production process.
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Keywords:
plasma spectroscopy; nuclear forensics; analytical chemistry; nuclear chemistry; lanthanide spectroscopy; LIBS
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MDPI and ACS Style
Rao, A.P.; Cook, M.T.; Hall, H.L.; Shattan, M.B. Quantitative Analysis of Cerium-Gallium Alloys Using a Hand-Held Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Device. Atoms 2019, 7, 84. https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms7030084
AMA Style
Rao AP, Cook MT, Hall HL, Shattan MB. Quantitative Analysis of Cerium-Gallium Alloys Using a Hand-Held Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Device. Atoms. 2019; 7(3):84. https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms7030084
Chicago/Turabian StyleRao, Ashwin P., Matthew T. Cook, Howard L. Hall, and Michael B. Shattan. 2019. "Quantitative Analysis of Cerium-Gallium Alloys Using a Hand-Held Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Device" Atoms 7, no. 3: 84. https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms7030084
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