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Multiphoton electron extraction spectroscopy and its comparison with other spectroscopies for direct detection of solids under ambient conditions

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Abstract

Multiphoton electron extraction spectroscopy (MEES) is an analytical method for direct analysis of solids under ambient conditions in which the samples are irradiated by short UV laser pulses and the photocharges emitted are recorded as a function of the laser wavelength. The method is very sensitive, and many peaks are observed at wavelengths that are in resonance with the surface molecules. The analytical capabilities of MEES have recently been demonstrated, and here we perform a systematic comparison with some traditional spectroscopies that are commonly applied to material analysis. These include absorption, reflection, excitation and emission fluorescence, Raman, Fourier transform IR, and Fourier transform near-IR spectroscopies. The comparison is conducted for powders and for thin films of compounds that are active in all spectroscopies tested. Besides the obvious spectral parameters (signal-to-noise ratio, peak density, and resulting limits of detection), we introduce two additional variables—the spectral quality and the spectral quality density—that represent our intuitive perception of the analytical value of a spectrum. It is shown that by most parameters MEES is a superior analytical tool to the other methods tested for both sample morphologies.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, by the Office of the Chief Scientist, Israeli Ministry Economy, and by Technion—Israel Institute of Technology (VPR fund). V. Bulatov thanks the Israeli Ministry of Absorption for financial support of new immigrant scientists. S. Tang appreciates the financial support from the China Scholarship Council for performing research at Technion, Israel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Shisong Tang, Valery Bulatov & Yehuda Yavetz-Chen

  2. Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200, Israel

    Nataly Vinerot & Israel Schechter

Authors
  1. Shisong Tang
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  2. Nataly Vinerot
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  3. Valery Bulatov
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  4. Yehuda Yavetz-Chen
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  5. Israel Schechter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Israel Schechter.

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Funding

This study was supported in part by the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, by the Office of the Chief Scientist, Israeli Ministry Economy, and by Technion—Israel Institute of Technology (VPR fund).

V. Bulatov received financial support (partial salary) from the Israeli Ministry of Absorption for new immigrant scientists.

S. Tang received financial support (fellowship) from the China Scholarship Council for performing research at Technion, Israel.

Technion provided financial support for attending conferences.

Patents

MEES technology has been patented. The inventors are I. Schechter and V. Bulatov. The owner is Technion—Israel Institute of Technology. According to Technion regulations, if royalties are obtained, part might be shared with the inventors.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

The authors declare that to the best of their knowledge, no data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own.

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Tang, S., Vinerot, N., Bulatov, V. et al. Multiphoton electron extraction spectroscopy and its comparison with other spectroscopies for direct detection of solids under ambient conditions. Anal Bioanal Chem 408, 8037–8051 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9904-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9904-2

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