Analysis of tungsten carbide coatings by UV laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Tungsten carbide coatings (thickness 0.1–0.2 mm) containing 8.0, 12.2, 17.2 and 22.9% Co were studied with laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (LA-ICP-AES). Composition of these plasma sprayed deposits on steel disks was determined using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and electron microprobe energy/wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The coatings were ablated by means of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 266 nm (10 Hz, 10 mJ per shot) coupled to an ICP echelle-based spectrometer equipped with a segmented charge-coupled device detector. Non-linear dependences of cobalt lines intensities on the Co percentage were observed both at a single spot ablation and at a sample translation. This behaviour could be attributed to a complex phase composition of the system W–C–Co. However, employing tungsten as internal standard the linear calibration was obtained for studied analytical lines Co II 228.616 nm, Co II 230.786 nm, Co II 236.379 nm and Co II 238.892 nm.