Detection of lead in water at ppt levels using resin-enrichment combined with LIBS-LIF

Abstract

Lead detection is critical for maintaining drinking water safety. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is widely used for elemental analysis, but its sensitivity is reduced in the presence of water. To address this issue, we applied resin enrichment (RE) combined with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy assisted by laser-induced fluorescence (LIBS-LIF) for ultra-trace lead detection in water. This method demonstrated good linearity with a determination coefficient of 0.98 in the calibration of lead (Pb) and a detection limit (LOD) of 88 ng L⁻¹, which was an improvement of one order of magnitude compared to resin enrichment combined with LIBS (RE-LIBS) analysis. Overall, the RE-LIBS-LIF method shows great potential for ultrasensitive lead analysis in water.