The validity of nanoparticle enhanced molecular laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Abstract

Molecular laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (MLIBS) has received widespread attention due to its unique features, like larger isotope shifts and visible spectral range. However, the actual application has not been developed because the intensity of most molecular emission spectra is quite weak. Recently, nanoparticle enhanced LIBS (NELIBS) has been of great interest due to its more than an order of magnitude enhancement and simple sample preparation. In this study, the validity of nanoparticle enhanced MLIBS (NEMLIBS) was explored, and the geometric constraint was first proposed to improve the enhancement factor of NEMLIBS. What's more, the effect of experimental conditions such as pre-ablation of solid samples, laser energy and laser spot diameter on the enhancement factor of NEMLIBS was investigated, and the results show that using higher laser energy and a larger laser spot diameter and performing the pre-ablation of solid samples are beneficial to get a good enhancement factor. Finally, the practicality of NEMLIBS was discussed by comparing with the traditional MLIBS technology. In summary, a comprehensive exploration on the nanoparticle enhanced MLIBS was studied, thereby providing an overall understanding for the applications of NEMLIBS.