Record Detail

Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) coupled with a laser ablation
time of flight mass spectrometer (LA-TOF-MS) has been developed for discrimination/analysis of the precious gold alloys cartage. Five gold alloys of Karats 18K, 19K, 20K,
22K and 24K having certified composition of gold as 75, 79, 85, 93 and 99.99% were
tested and their precise elemental compositions were determined using the laser produced
plasma technique. The plasma was generated by focusing beam of a Nd:YAG laser on the
target in air and its time integrated emission spectra were registered in the range
250–870 nm. The calibration free LIBS technique (CF-LIBS) was used for the quantitative
determination of the constituent elements present in different Karats of gold. Elemental
compositions of these gold alloys were also determined using a Laser Ablation time of
flight mass spectrometer (LA-TOF-MS). The LIBS limit of detection was calculated from
the calibration curves for copper, silver and gold. Results of CF-LIBS and LA-TOF-MS are
in excellent agreement with the certified values. It is demonstrated that LIBS coupled with
LA-TOF-MS is an efficient technique that can be used to analyze any precious alloys in a
fraction of a second