Mapping of platinum group metals in automotive exhaust three-way catalystsusing laser-induced breakdown spectrometry

The use of laser-induced breakdown spectrometry for spatial distribution an alysis of platinum, rhodium, and palladium in car catalytic converters is d iscussed. Fresh converters were extracted from the car exhaust system, cut in pieces of an appropriate size, and analyzed for mapping purposes. Spectr al detection, pulse energy, and beam focal conditions were optimized accord ing to the ablation behavior of the material. Difficulties in distribution analysis caused by the complex elemental composition of the sample were ove rcome by an extensive spectral analysis using appropriate internal standard s, Data on the spatial distribution of the active metals in both the axial and radial directions of the catalytic structures are presented.