Enhancement of aluminum, titanium, and iron in glass using pre-ablation spark dual-pulse LIBS

In this paper, we report the first enhanced emission for elements in a nonm etal or nonconducting matrix, glass, with the use of a preablation spark. T he glass samples used in this work are prototypes of samples used to immobi lize inorganic waste at the Savannah River Site Vitrification Facility. We have found that using a pre-ablation spark results in larger signal: enhanc ements, 11- to 20-fold for titanium, aluminum, and iron in glass compared t o the metal under the same experimental conditions. We also demonstrate tha t this method is more sensitive than single-pulse LIPS experiments for the direct solid sampling of vitrified waste glass.