Matrix effects in laser ablation molecular isotopic spectrometry

Abstract

Recently, it has been shown that laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) can be used for the detection of isotopes of elements via isotopic shifts in diatomic species in a technique known as laser ablation molecular isotopic spectrometry (LAMIS). While LAMIS works quite well for isotopic analysis of pure compounds under optimal conditions, it is desirable for it to be applicable for a variety of compounds and matrices. However, the LIBS plasma emission associated with LAMIS depends on several parameters, including the applied electric field of the laser pulse, the physical properties of the material being investigated, and the presence of additional elements other than the element of interest. In this paper, we address some of the pitfalls arising from these dependencies when using LAMIS for the determination of the relative isotopic abundance of boron-containing materials with varying chemical matrices.