Heavy metals high-sensitive detection by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy based on radial electroosmotic flow-driven enrichment

Junfei Nie; Lianbo Guo; Yuanchao Liu; Nan Deng; ZhenLin Hu; Peichao Zheng; Condon Lau

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125199

Heavy metals high-sensitive detection by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy based on radial electroosmotic flow-driven enrichment

Talanta. 2024 Jan 15:267:125199. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125199. Epub 2023 Sep 14.

Authors

Junfei Nie¹, Lianbo Guo², Yuanchao Liu³, Nan Deng⁴, ZhenLin Hu⁴, Peichao Zheng⁵, Condon Lau⁶

Affiliations

¹ Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO), Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Girds Operation and Control on Multi-Power Sources Area, Shaoyang University, Shaoyang, Hunan, 422000, China.
² Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO), Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China. Electronic address: lbguo@hust.edu.cn.
³ Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: yuanchaol@outlook.com.
⁴ Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO), Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, China.
⁵ Chongqing Municipal Level Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic Information Sensing and Transmitting Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, 400000, China.
⁶ Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong SAR, China.

PMID: 37717536
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125199

Abstract

Heavy metal detection is imperative for human health and environmental sustainability. However, the commonly used liquid sample pretreatment, drying liquid droplet to solid, encounters solute diffusion and nonuniform distribution, thus causing unpromising detection results. Here, we developed a radial electroosmotic flow-driven (REOF) platform to enrich heavy metals in water for high-sensitive detection using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Firstly, the electrodes in the substate for REOF were designed and produced by the printed circuit board manufacturer. Different particle deposition patterns were observed by modifying the direction and magnitude of voltage in the evaporated droplets of Cadmium Chloride (CdCl₂) on the substrate. Then, the two-dimensional model of the evaporating droplets with REOF was established to verify the experimental phenomenon. The CdCl₂ (10-50 mg/L) and Manganese Chloride (MnCl₂, 1-8 mg/L) solutions were quantitatively analyzed with the optimized parameter on the substrate by LIBS. The detection limits of Ca and Mn can be reduced by approximately 42 times with REOF substrates by LIBS. Finally, the Mn in the real underground water sample was tested with the REOF substrate by LIBS, and the relative error was 5.5% compared with the results of ICP-MS. The results demonstrated that the REOF can enrich and uniformly distribute the solute on the substrate, and be helpful for the analysis of heavy metals in solution with LIBS.

Keywords: Coffee ring effect; Detection of heavy metals; Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy; Radial electroosmotic flow.