Practical and Technical Guides for Laboratory-based Chemists – serie

Thanks to its analytical versatility, speed of analysis and relatively low cost, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is having a steadily increasing global impact in cultural heritage diagnostics. This book introduces LIBS to technicians, students and practising conservation scientists needing a hands-on approach to the technique.The book opens with the physical and chemical background of LIBS from the perspective of practical applications relevant to cultural heritage. Further discussions address the wider context of extant challenges, highlighting the technique’s strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities it offers, alone or in combination with other analytical methodologies. Readers are provided with a selection of case studies to familiarise themselves with the practical aspects necessary to design and successfully carry out analyses of different materials, with both benchtop and portable equipment. A tutorial section on instrumental set-up and LIBS data analysis and interpretation is also included, to support users and provide a comprehensive troubleshooting guide.Conceived as an introductory manual and an essential tool for heritage science practitioners interested in including LIBS in their skillset, the guide also has a broader appeal for LIBS beginners in any field.

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) is a chromatography-free, direct-analysis technique that is ideally suited to real-time, quantitative analysis of volatile compounds in air at trace concentrations. SIFT-MS utilises highly controlled, soft chemical ionisation – in the form of gas-phase ion–molecule reactions – coupled with mass spectrometry detection to provide both broad-spectrum and specific analysis of volatiles with diverse functionalities.This book provides readers with a broad understanding of the principles of the SIFT-MS technique and how it differs from conventional chromatographic approaches that are used for analysis of volatiles. It will also aid users to identify existing and new methods where adoption of SIFT-MS would be advantageous, e.g. through reduction in sample preparation or higher throughput, and provides the knowledge and insight required to develop best-practice methods and effectively evaluate the data that they generate and approaches to optimising, validating, and transferring methods to routine analysis and other applications.This book addresses two needs for SIFT-MS users:As a reference work, it gathers the fundamental principles from the literature and laboratory experience to provide a practical textbook for those using SIFT-MS in routine laboratories, research organisations and academia.It utilises a procedure-based approach to apply principles to routine analysis, simplifying implementation in routine analysis laboratories, while also accelerating effective application in other specialisations.The audience for this book is method developers and laboratory technicians engaged in routine analysis and research laboratories, but it is also well suited to graduate students, reducing the mentoring load for academics and research fellows.

Struggling to get to grips with a new technique? Need some guidance on how to analyse metallic elements? Pitfalls, common errors and useful hints and tips are all discovered in this new book.Atomic spectrometry techniques are used to determine the metallic elements, as well as metalloids and non-metals. Providing methods of sample collection, sample preparation and analytical methodology, the book explores several techniques including flame and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS and ETAAS), inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES), inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS), and more. In addition to these, the sections on sample collection and sample preparation methods are valuable for those practising or revising techniques. It provides a precious source of theoretical and practical information for those who are new to the techniques or working in laboratories with little access to in-house expertise. Unlike some books that are suitable for undergraduate students, this text provides hints, tips and methodology for users of the techniques. It is an accessible reference which can be read in parts or as a whole and is written to appeal to researchers, industrial scientists and technicians working in this field.