TY - JOUR A1 - van Wasen, S. A1 - You, Yi A1 - Beck, S. A1 - Riedel, Jens A1 - Volmer, D. A. T1 - Laser Ablation Secondary Electrospray Ionization for In Situ Mass Spectrometric Interrogation of Acoustically-Levitated Droplets N2 - The composition of acoustically levitated droplets was probed by a novel combination of mid-IR laser evaporation and subsequent postionization via secondary electrospray ionization. The combination of microliter samples and subnanoliter sampling provided time-resolved interrogation of droplets and allowed for a kinetic investigation of the laser-induced release of the analyte, which was found to strongly depend on the analytes. The observed substancespecific delayed release of the analytes permitted baseline-separated discrimination of the analytes, ideal for the study of complex samples. The additionally applied postionization scheme was found to enable efficient detection of small volatile compounds as well as peptides. The detection of small molecules and peptides occurred under very different sampling geometries, pointing to two distinct underlying ionization mechanisms. Overall, our results suggest that the experimental setup presented in this study can serve as a widely applicable platform to study chemical reactions in acoustically levitated droplets as model reactors. KW - Acoustic levitation KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Electrospray KW - Laser ablation PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.2c03800 SN - 0003-2700 VL - 2022 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington AN - OPUS4-56531 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xue, Boyang A1 - Wang, Zhangjun A1 - Zhu, Tao A1 - Gu, Yezhen A1 - Sun, Weihong A1 - Chen, Chao A1 - Li, Zhigang A1 - Riedel, Jens A1 - You, Yi T1 - High repetition-rate laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy combined with two-dimensional correlation method for analysis of sea-salt aerosols N2 - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) offers a tantalizing glimpse into real-time, on-the-spot aerosol analysis. Yet, the reliance on traditional lasers, with their limitations in energy and frequency, hampers optimal sample handling, dissociation, and excitation. To address those challenges, we propose a novel tactic: utilize a high repetition-rate (rep.-rate) laser with low pulse energy in combination with the two-dimensional correlation (2D-corr.) technique for sea-salt aerosols analyses. By examining the emission patterns from both the laser pulse train and individual pulses, we recognize distinctive analyte-specific rep.-rate responses, which allowed spectral reconstruction of analytes, avoiding background interferences. This discovery enabled the rep.-rate modulation for a 2D-corr. spectroscopy workflow. Consequently, we successfully differentiated between particle-related and air-species-related spectral components, obviating expensive spectrometers or intensified image detectors. For instance, the Na I at 589 nm stemming from aerosols exhibited an entirely different correlation contribution compared to O I at 777 nm, resulting in reconstructed clean aerosol-spectra without spectral peaks originated from air species. This 2D-corr. aerosol LIBS approach shows promising analytical potential streamlining aerosol particle analysis. KW - LIBS KW - Aerosol PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-613392 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2024.107048 SN - 0584-8547 VL - 221 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-61339 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, Xunyu A1 - Riedel, Jens A1 - You, Yi T1 - Spectrally resolved lithium isotope quantification through high-resolution spatial heterodyne spectrometry N2 - Isotope ratio determination of lithium is increasingly important in fields ranging from geochemistry to battery diagnostics. While mass spectrometry remains the gold standard, it is costly, cumbersome, and incompatible with portable or inline implementations. Optical emission spectroscopy presents an appealing alternative. However, it is traditionally limited by insufficient spectral resolution or resolving power to separate lithium isotope emissions due to their generalized designs for a wide spectral range; this often requires overly complicated algorithms to overcome the instrumental drawbacks. (79) Results Here, we report a high-resolution optical method for lithium isotope quantification using a custom-built spatial heterodyne spectrometer (SHS) combined with a reduced-pressure glow discharge source. This configuration yielded a resolving power of 189,000 and enabled baseline resolution of lithium d-line emission features even without the need for preliminary data processing. Despite the inherent low sensitivity of SHS, a detection limit of 30 pmol was achieved using a standard industrial camera. To improve quantitative accuracy, we introduced a deconvolution-based spectral lineshape recovery technique alongside a bootstrapping-based error propagation strategy. These methods facilitated robust isotope ratio calibration using both peak-height and peak-area metrics. The SHS platform additionally enabled the determination of relative transition probabilities, suggesting the feasibility of calibration-free operation. This work demonstrates the practical viability of SHS for high-specificity, high-resolution lithium isotope analysis. The approach is compact, potentially field-deployable, and adaptable to other elements with optically resolvable isotope shifts, offering a route toward accessible and calibration-free optical isotopic analyses. KW - SHS KW - Isotope KW - High-resolution spectroscopy PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-635139 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344329 SN - 1873-4324 VL - 1368 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-63513 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mohan, M. A1 - Prochazka, D. A1 - You, Yi A1 - Riedel, Jens A1 - Gornushkin, Igor A1 - Rocnakova, I. A1 - Papula, M. A1 - Porízka, P. A1 - Kaizer, J. T1 - Investigating plasma morphology at material boundaries under varying ambient pressures N2 - Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a widely used technique for elemental analysis. The analysis of the obtained LIBS spectra generally assumes plasma homogeneity. However, using focused laser beams for interrogation, LIBS probes materials on the microscale and is, thus, prone to artefacts from sample heterogeneities on the micrometer scale. An ablation at a material boundary of two matrices may result in a significant inhomogeneity in the plasma plume, which can severely impact the accuracy of quantitative analysis. Since this propagation of the surface morphology into the plasma plume is driven by the plasma expansion, its final impact is strongly pressure dependent. This study examines the influence of varying ambient pressures (7–1000 mbar) on plasma morphology, spectral characteristics, and key plasma properties such as electron number density at a well-defined Cu–Sn boundary, in comparison with the results obtained using homogeneous alloys. Several approaches of plasma imaging with bandpass filters, spectroscopy, and Radon transform-based 3D reconstruction were employed to analyze elemental distribution, signal-to-noise (SNR) and signal-to-background (SBR) ratios, as well as electron number densities. The 3D reconstructions revealed a pronounced plasma asymmetry for the ablation at the material boundary, in contrast to the near-axial symmetry observed for the ablation of homogeneous alloys. At lower pressures, this distinct elemental separation in plasma persisted, while higher pressures led to an increased collisional mixing and homogenization. SNR and SBR were consistently lower for ablation at the boundary compared to homogeneous samples. These findings highlight how boundary ablation contributes to plasma inhomogeneities in LIBS analysis of heterogeneous materials and emphasize the need to account for these effects when using LIBS for elemental mapping of fine heterogeneous structures. KW - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy KW - Plasma inhomogeneity KW - Plasma tomography KW - Radon transform KW - Material boundaries KW - Ambient pressure effects PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-634777 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2025.128377 SN - 1873-3573 VL - 295 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-63477 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - You, Yi A1 - Xue, Boyang A1 - Riedel, Jens T1 - Enhancement of LIBS plasma in air with organic solvent vapors N2 - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) offers versatile, field-deployable elemental analysis; however, compact, high-repetition-rate nanosecond laser systems typically face constraints in power consumption and size, often compromising emission intensity and thus analytical performance. We demonstrate a significant improvement in LIBS signals through the controlled introduction of common organic solvent vapors into a sheath gas, with a diode-pumped solid-state laser (1064 nm, 2–28 kHz repetition rate, 450–600-μJ pulse energy). Optical and acoustic diagnostics reveal up to ca. 40-fold enhancement of the N II emission line at 567 nm when ambient air serves as the analyte. Maximal enhancement occurs at intermediate repetition rates of ca. 15 kHz, particularly at pulse energies approaching the optical breakdown threshold; this observation suggests a viable strategy for operating LIBS at lower pulse energies and higher repetition rates. Enhancement effects scale jointly with both vapor pressure and ionization energy of the organic species, with acetone and toluene markedly outperforming methanol and isopropanol. These findings provide a rational foundation for significantly improving the analytical performance of portable LIBS instruments without exceeding platform-specific constraints. KW - LIBS PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-653758 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2025.107309 SN - 0584-8547 VL - 236 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-65375 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wittwer, Philipp A1 - Roesch, Philipp A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Simon, Fabian A1 - Gehrenkemper, Lennart A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Simon, Franz-Georg T1 - Less Is More: Influence of Cross-Linking Agent Concentration on PFOS Adsorption in Chitosan N2 - As a result of the continuous use of persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), e.g., in aviation firefighting foams, contamination with PFAS has been found in soil, groundwater, and surface water around thousands of industrial and military installations. Due to their harmful (environmental) potential, further dispersion in the environment needs to be stopped, which can be achieved by appropriate absorption materials. In this work, the influence of the cross-linking agent epichlorohydrin (ECH) concentration on the perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) adsorption capacity of chitosan gel was investigated. It was found that higher ECH concentration during the cross-linking step decreases the PFOS adsorption capacity of the cross-linked chitosan gel from 0% to 4% ECH solution by about 15%. Using a concentration of 1%, ECH resulted still in an acid-stable material, and a maximum PFOS loading capacity of 4.04 mmol/g was obtained, one of the highest described in the literature. Furthermore, we used a rapid small-scale column test to compare the PFOS adsorption capacity of chitosan and activated carbon, each in both milled and unmilled form. Unmilled chitosan showed the highest PFOS adsorption capacity considering adsorption material dry masses (>0.9 and <0.4 mmol/g for both types of chitosan and activated carbon, respectively). Milled activated carbon proved to be the better adsorption material, considering the fixed volume of the adsorber (>99.9% PFOS adsorbed). Overall, the cross-linking agent concentration in chitosan is a crucial factor influencing its PFOS absorption potential. Our results feature cross-linked chitosan as an effective economic and ecologic alternative for PFOS adsorption in aqueous solutions. KW - Combustion Ion Chromatography KW - Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) KW - Remediation PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-618406 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/app142311145 VL - 14 IS - 23 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-61840 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, Christian A1 - Urban, Klaus A1 - Ackerhans, C. A1 - Gorbushina, Anna T1 - Analysis of Carbon and Nitrogen from Atmospheric Sources by Bulk Deposition Sampling at various locations in Germany N2 - Atmospheric deposition of particulate matter is an important indicator of air pollution and a significant factor in material surface fouling. The elemental composition of this nutrient-containing dust depends largely on the exposure region and time as well as on climate. Therefore, in this paper we report an analysis of atmospheric pollutions with a self-made low-cost bulk deposition sampler directed at sampling deposition via air transport and rainfall. We used the device in diverse environments - thus comparing an urban region, an area surrounded by forest and an area mainly dominated by agriculture. The total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) amounts were selected as indicator parameters and analyzed in a biweekly rhythm for three and a half and two years, respectively. The TOC value responded to particulate matter in the urban area, especially significant were the influences of the New Year's firework in urban and pollen in the rural forest area. In contrast, the TN value was more under the influence of the nitrogen emissions in the agriculture-dominated area. However, the TN value did not correlate with the NOx values in the urban area because the atmospheric nitrogen emissions in the city might originate from various emission sources. Summarizing, the TOC and TN values of the self-made low-cost bulk deposition sampler were in good agreement with environmental events of their immediate surrounding. Moreover, the selected containers and sampling procedures are universally applicable to monitor and analyze organic as well as inorganic parameters (e.g. metal ions) of atmospheric deposition. KW - Passive sampling KW - Biomonitoring KW - Air Analysis PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-609373 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2024.100583 SN - 2666-7657 VL - 17 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-60937 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lee, C. A1 - Inutan, E. D. A1 - Chen, J. L. A1 - Mukeku, M. M. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Trimpin, S. A1 - Ni, C.-K. T1 - Toward understanding the ionization mechanism of matrix‐assisted ionization using mass spectrometry experiment and theory N2 - Matrix‐assisted ionization (MAI) mass spectrometry does not require voltages, a laser beam, or added heat to initiate ionization, but it is strongly dependent on the choice of matrix and the vacuum conditions. High charge state distributions of nonvolatile analyte ions produced by MAI suggest that the ionization mechanism may be similar to that of electrospray ionization (ESI), but different from matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI). While significant information is available for MAI using mass spectrometers operating at atmospheric and intermediate pressure, little is known about the mechanism at high vacuum. Eleven MAI matrices were studied on a high‐vacuum time‐of‐flight (TOF) mass spectrometer using a 266 nm pulsed laser beam under otherwise typical MALDI conditions. Detailed comparisons with the commonly used MALDI matrices and theoretical prediction were made for 3‐nitrobenzonitrile (3‐NBN), which is the only MAI matrix that works well in high vacuum when irradiated with a laser. Screening of MAI matrices with good absorption at 266 nm but with various degrees of volatility and laser energies suggests that volatility and absorption at the laser wavelength may be necessary, but not sufficient, criteria to explain the formation of multiply charged analyte ions. 3‐NBN produces intact, highly charged ions of nonvolatile analytes in high‐vacuum TOF with the use of a laser, demonstrating that ESI‐like ions can be produced in high vacuum. Theoretical calculations and mass spectra suggest that thermally induced proton transfer, which is the major ionization mechanism in MALDI, is not important with the 3‐NBN matrix at 266 nm laser wavelength. 3‐NBN:analyte crystal morphology is, however, important in ion generation in high vacuum. The 3‐NBN MAI matrix produces intact, highly charged ions of nonvolatile compounds in high‐vacuum TOF mass spectrometers with the aid of ablation and/or heating by laser irradiation, and shows a different ionization mechanism from that of typical MALDI matrices. KW - Ionization KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Mechanism PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.8382 VL - 35 IS - 51 SP - e8382 PB - John Wiley & Sons AN - OPUS4-49209 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, H. A1 - Weidner, Steffen T1 - Low Molar Mass Cyclic Poly(L-lactide)s: Separate Transesterification Reactions of Cycles and Linear Chains in the Solid State N2 - L-Lactide (LA) was polymerized with neat tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate (SnOct2) in toluene at 115 °C at low concentration with variation of the LA/Cat ratio. Cyclic polylactides (cPLAs) with number average molecular weights (Mn) between 7 000 and 17 000 were obtained. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry also revealed the formation of a few percent of linear chains. Crystalline cPLAs with Mn around 9 000 and 14 000 were annealed at 140 °C in the presence of ScOct2 or dibutyl-2-stanna-1,3-dithiolane (DSTL). Simultaneously, crystallites of extended linear chains and crystallites of extended cycles were formed regardless of the catalyst, indicating that transesterification reaction proceeded different for linear chains and for cycles, governed by thermodynamic control. The formation of extended chain crystallites with low dispersity indicates the existence of symproportionation of short and long chains. A complementary experiment was carried out with a PLA ethyl ester composed mainly of linear chains with a small fraction of cycles KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Annealing PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-606228 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SM00567H SN - 1744-6848 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-60622 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Meyer, A. A1 - Kricheldorf, H. T1 - Transformation of poly(L-lactide) crystals composed of linear chains into crystals composed of cycles N2 - A poly(L-lactide) with a trifluoroethyl ester end group and an average degree of polymerization (DP) of 50 was synthesized by ROP of L-lactide initiated with trifluoroethanol. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in combination with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements revealed an average crystal thickness of 13 nm, corresponding to 45 repeat units. This suggests that most crystallites were formed by extended PLA chains, and both flat surfaces were covered by CF3 groups. The crystalline PLAs were annealed at 140 or 160 °C in the presence of two catalysts: tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate, (SnOct2) or dibutyltin bis(pentafluorophenoxide) (BuSnPhF). The chemical reactions, such as polycondensation and cyclization, proceeded in the solid state and were monitored by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-offlight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometry and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) measurements. Under optimal conditions a large fraction of linear chains was transformed into crystallites composed of extended cycles. Additionally, MALDI TOF MS analysis of GPC fractions from samples annealed for 28 or 42 days detected chain elongation of the linear species up to a factor of 20. KW - Polylactide KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Crystalinity KW - Transesterification PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-597250 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D3PY01370G SN - 1759-9954 VL - 15 IS - 12 SP - 1173 EP - 1181 PB - Royal Society for Chemistry AN - OPUS4-59725 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -