Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in the analysis of metals, chemicals and functional materials

Abstract

This update covers the literature published between approximately June 2024 and April 2025 and is the latest part of a series of annual reviews. It is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the current state of the art with respect to the atomic spectrometric analysis of various metals, polymers, electronic, nano and other materials. Data processing continues to be the major focus for LIBS and TOF-SIMS analyses, mainly to provide reliable analyte quantification data. A variety of machine learning algorithms and statistical approaches have been used for this, often in multiple steps. Although these algorithms have been used for some years, their use is expanding into new areas. Another development is the combination of complementary techniques on the same instrument platform. This enables data from the two techniques to be obtained simultaneously and from the same spot on the sample. The analysis of polymers and nanomaterials continues to develop, with the prominent platforms used being SP-ICP-MS, SP-ICP-TOF-MS and X-ray based techniques. In addition, efforts are now being accelerated to produce nanomaterial CRMs and RMs, the lack of which has hampered truly robust method validation. For electronic materials XPS, GIXRF, GEXRF and TOF-SIMS remain dominant for surface and depth profiling, whilst for bulk composition LIBS, ICP-MS, and XRF remain prominent. Work in this area is also focussing on the development of advanced sample preparation and microextraction approaches that expand the scope of laser-based spectroscopy.