Elemental fractionation and matrix effects in laser sampling based spectrometry

The utilization of laser sampling technique in analytical spectrometry has long prevailed as it does not require sample pretreatment, large samples or cause contamination. However, it suffers from a series of defects such as elemental fractionation, matrix effect and shortage of matrix-matched reference materials for most samples of interest. To correct these undesired effects and achieve better analytical performance, it is vital to be conscious of when and how the above deflecting effects occur, to what extent the various parameters involved influence them, and what means can be applied to minimize them. The present review summarizes the research work dealing with elemental fractionation and matrix effects in laser sampling approaches. The review is arranged as follows: Various phenomena of these effects in laser sampling based spectrometry are presented in Section 2; the processes involved are discussed in Section 3; subsequently, the impact of laser parameters and ablation background gas is discussed in Section 4 and 5, respectively; several theoretical studies concerning element-/matrix-specific ablation behavior are briefly considered in Section 6; the means to ultimately minimize elemental fractionation and matrix effect are presented in Section 7; and artificial matrix matched/non-matrix matched analysis approaches are summarized in Section 8.