Dielectric silica NPs for nanoparticle-enhanced laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy: Improving the cobalt element spectral intensity

We investigated the enhancement of cobalt spectral using nanoparticle-enhanced laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (NELIBS) through the utilisation of silica nanoparticles (NPs) with excellent sphericity. The exceptional sphericity of the silica NPs guaranteed stable and consistent experimental results. The spectral intensity of Co as a function of the concentration and the size of silica NPs was explored. Numerical simulations reveal that the abnormal trend of the Co spectral against NPs size is mainly attributed to the local electric field enhancement effect and the adsorption capacity of the silica NPs. Moreover, the silica NPs exhibited excellent dispersion in a mixed solution of ethanol and ultrapure water, resulting in a reduced drying time of approximately one minute. This facilitated the efficient and practical application of silica NPs in NELIBS.