Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy surface analysis correlated with the process of nanoparticle production by laser ablation in liquids

Laser induced ablation of solids situated in liquids (LAL) was used in order to produce nanoparticles. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) surface analysis correlated with the process of nanoparticle production by LAL was applied to explain the composition of the obtained nanoparticles as determined by Electron Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). In the case of aluminum rods placed in distilled water irradiated with pulsed laser radiation (355 nm wavelength, 6 ns pulse length) we have obtained spheric nanoparticles with dimensions lower than 100 nm. Quantitative EDS analyses on the obtained spheres showed the presence of, Al, O, and Si. This indicates that probably the composition of the nanoparticles is an aluminum silicate. LIBS analysis on the aluminum target have shown the presence of a Si line with low intensity indicating a small quantity of silicon in the first ablated layers. The LIBS spectra for a sequence of pulses evidenced also that the intensity of the aluminum lines after a number of pulses decreases. This means that the quantity of ablated material becomes smaller due to the ablation depth decrease.