Innovative Elemental Analysis for Materials Science and Engineering

A circular economy is essential for climate protection and resource efficiency. Since 1970, global material use has tripled, and nearly half of CO₂ emissions are linked to resource extraction and processing. Developing sustainable materials and recycling strategies requires precise analytics to detect compositional deviations and trace pollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This two-day workshop presents innovative elemental analysis techniques. The first day provides an overview of current methods, including Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry/-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-MS/-OES), Atomic and Molecular Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS, MAS), X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), Glow Discharge-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (GD-OES), and others. The focus then shifts to key methods relevant for solid sample and PFAS analysis, especially ICP-MS/-OES and AAS/MAS. The following methods will be discussed in more detail, but the concepts can be applied to similar ICP-MS/-OES and AAS/MAS methods: ICP-OES with Electrothermal Vaporization (ICP-ETV) and ICP-MS with Laser Ablation (LA/ICP-MS) for solid material analysis, and High resolution-continuum Source-Graphite Furnace Molecular Absorption Spectrometry (HR-CS-GFMAS) for contaminant analysis, such as PFAS. In addition to the theoretical foundations, the course will explore method selection strategies and practical use cases in materials science and engineering. Participants are encouraged to actively engage and share challenges from their own work. The second day is entirely dedicated to hands-on laboratory practice. Participants will work directly with ETV/ICP-OES, LA/ICP-MS, and HR-CS-GFMAS. This experience provides practical insights into the performance of these methods under real-world conditions. This experience will help them build confidence in selecting and applying these techniques to their own work. This course is designed for professionals and researchers in materials science, engineering, and environmental analysis who use advanced techniques to improve material quality, enable recycling, and develop safe, sustainable materials.