Compositional analysis of copper and iron-based alloys using LIBS coupled with chemometric method

Vikas Gupta; Abhishekh Kumar Rai; Tejmani Kumar; Akash Tarai; G Manoj Kumar Gundawar; A K Rai

doi:10.1007/s44211-023-00429-y

Compositional analysis of copper and iron-based alloys using LIBS coupled with chemometric method

Anal Sci. 2024 Jan;40(1):53-65. doi: 10.1007/s44211-023-00429-y. Epub 2023 Oct 16.

Authors

Vikas Gupta¹, Abhishekh Kumar Rai², Tejmani Kumar¹, Akash Tarai³, G Manoj Kumar Gundawar³, A K Rai⁴

Affiliations

¹ Laser Spectroscopy Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, 211002, India.
² Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, 211002, India.
³ School of Physics, Advanced Centre of Research in High Energy Materials, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 500046, India.
⁴ Laser Spectroscopy Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, 211002, India. awadheshkrai@gmail.com.

PMID: 37843730
DOI: 10.1007/s44211-023-00429-y

Abstract

The present manuscript deals with the utility of the calibration-free LIBS and calibration curve methods for the compositional study of different alloys using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). In the process of alloying in the smelting industry, metal concentration in different alloys affects the physical and chemical properties of the final products. Therefore, LIBS can be used as an efficient quantitative analysis tool for online monitoring of the quality of the products. This is because LIBS can be performed online, in situ, without any pre-processing, and need no sample preparation for the compositional analysis of any type of materials present in any phase (solid, liquid, gas or even molten alloys in the industries). In the present study, four alloys (three copper and one iron-based alloy) consisting of Cu, Al, Zn, Ni, Fe, Cr and Mn as major and Sn and Si as minor elements were selected for the study using calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) and calibration curve method i.e. partial least square regression (PLSR). For the CF-LIBS method, the temporal delay has been optimized in order to satisfy the optically thin and local thermal equilibrium (LTE) condition of the plasma. For the PLSR method, different regions of the strongest emission lines of constituents have been selected for quantitative analysis. The study of time-resolved LIBS spectra and the variation of plasma parameters with respect to the delay time is also discussed. The utility of the combined technique of CF-LIBS with the PLSR method for rapid monitoring and quality assessment of desired material/products without any sample pretreatment, thus reducing the cost of the analysis, is presented in this paper.

Keywords: Alloys; CF-LIBS; Chemometric method; LIBS; PLSR.