Nanomaterials induced plasma spectroscopy

LIBS of nanosecond pulsed Nd: YAG laser (1064 nm) produced plasma from a set of nanomaterial and bulk targets (ZnO, Fe3O4, Ag2O, TiO2, SiO2 and Al2O3) is investigated at laser fluencies in the range 86 J/cm2 to 2.5 J/cm2. The optical emission spectra is recorded at the gate and time delay of 1 ps after the onset of the plasma in air having a constant spot size of 0.9 mm. Nanoparticle targets revealed salient enhanced spectral emission compared to their bulky counterparts. Atomic spectral lines average and integral radiance tend to decrease exponentially with laser fluence. Yet, plasma parameters measurements indicated unnoticeable variation of relative electron density and temperature. Therefore, self-absorption corrected enhanced spectral emission was plausibly attributed solely to variation in the inherent nanoparticle relative concentrations. Viable explanations were elaborated based on changes in the intrinsic physical properties of the nanomaterial under high power laser irradiation.