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

Abstract

This atomic spectrometry update is the latest annual review under the title ‘Industrial Analysis’ and follows on from last year’s. In addition to this review, the reader is also directed to the other reviews in the series. In accordance with the last few years, there has been increasing interest in methods capable of direct analysis of solid materials. This means that laser induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) and laser ablation techniques have found an increased number of applications, whilst X-ray based techniques are also still thriving. The LIBS analyses have found considerable use for bulk analysis in the metals industry as well as in the analysis of inorganic chemicals and ceramics. In the petroleum industry, there is intense interest in determining not only total sulfur, but also performing speciation analysis, because during the de-sulfurisation process, not all S species are removed. There has been substantial interest in the preparation of certified materials for speciation analysis. Similarly, the stability of many of the species during extraction or storage has also been a subject that has received considerable interest. There has been a noticeable increase in the use of AMS for analysis in the nuclear industry. Similarly, the use of chemometrics for maximizing the amount of information derived from atomic spectrometric data has also found increased usage, especially for provenance studies of ancient ceramics and other archaeological artifacts.