Wavelength Dependence in the Analysis of Carbon Content in Coal by Nanosecond 266 nm and 1064 nm Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

The wavelength dependence of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in the analysis of the carbon contents of coal was studied using 266 nm and 1064 nm laser radiations. Compared with the 1064 nm wavelength laser ablation, the 266 nm wavelength laser ablation has less thermal effects, resulting in a better crater morphology on the coal pellets. Besides, the 266 nm wavelength laser ablation also provides better laser-sample coupling and less plasma shielding, resulting in a higher carbon line intensity and better signal reproducibility. The carbon contents in the bituminous coal samples have better linearity with the line intensities of atomic carbon measured by the 266 nm wavelength than those measured by the 1064 nm wavelength. The partial least square (PLS) model was established for the quantitative analysis of the carbon content in coal samples by LIBS. The results show that both of the 266 nm and 1064 nm wavelengths are capable of achieving good performance for the quantitative analysis of carbon content in coal using the PLS method. (paper)