Evaluation of Thin Film Microextraction for trace elemental analysis of liquid samples using LIBS detection

An analytical methodology based in the combination of Thin Film Microextraction with Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (TFME-LIBS) was investigated, for the first time, for detection of Cu, Cr, Ni and Pb in aqueous solutions. In this methodology, the analytes were extracted in a thin film of adsorbent material deposited on a solid support, which was introduced in the sample to analyse. After extraction, the analytes retained in the adsorbent were analysed by LIBS. In order to obtain adsorbent films useful for the microextraction step, two different experimental procedures for film generation, denoted as Drop Casting Deposition and Mould Deposition, were evaluated. In both cases, graphene…