Atomic spectrometry update. Industrial analysis: metals, chemicals and advanced materials

Depth profiles, Diffusion, Review, Surface.

This is the latest review covering atomic spectrometric measurements of industrial materials, metals, chemicals and advanced materials. It follows on from last year's review¹ and should be read in conjunction with other reviews in the series.^2-6 This year has seen the departure of Malcolm Salisbury, one of the writing team for two years. He has, however, been replaced by Sian Shore who is an able successor. Our thanks go to Malcolm for all of his hard work over the period. This year's review has a slightly changed format, with the larger sections being split into smaller sub-sections so that the reader may be directed more easily to the parts of the review most relevant to them. In addition, to aid quick reference, the use of Tables has also continued. The technique of laser induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) is still gathering pace, and its use is expanding into new territory. Similarly, the use of femtosecond laser ablation is also receiving more interest. These laser-based techniques are invaluable tools for the analysis of materials that are very inert, refractory or otherwise difficult to bring into solution or indeed if they are valuable either in terms of monetary value or archaeologically and must therefore have as little damage inflicted on them as possible. The use of chemometric analysis of analytical data is also gaining in popularity, especially for archaeological materials such as pottery/ceramics and glasses. This is largely because the use of chemometrics may facilitate provenance studies, elucidate trade routes etc. In addition, it is also being used increasingly for forensic applications. There is a continuing trend for the subject areas to overlap slightly, and hence it is worth noting that some papers may be discussed in more than one section of the review and that other papers may only be discussed once, but possibly not in the most expected place. The writing team are keen to elicit feedback from readers of this review and invite you to complete the Atomic Spectroscopy Updates questionnaire on www.asureviews.org. (427 references).