Laser desorption of NO and CO from sodium nitrate and calcium carbonate crystals

Pulsed laser irradiation of solid samples produces plumes of gaseous material suitable for mass or chemical analysis. The combination of laser desorption with various mass spectrometry techniques offers a method by which solid micro samples may be analyzed for elemental and chemical composition. Such techniques are being developed to characterize a variety of solid samples including soil, and hazardous mixed wastes. It is clear that the laser desorption analysis of mixed wastes involving molecular ionic compounds requires a detailed knowledge of the desorption properties of these components. Sodium nitrate (NaNO/sub 3/) and Calcium carbonate (CaCO/sub 3/) are of particular interest since each is a component in waste storage tanks at the Hanford nuclear reservation and a constituent of the earth's subsurface. In an attempt to develop laser desorption as an analysis tool, we have studied pulsed UV laser desorption from crystalline NaNO/sub 3/ and the calcite form of CaCO/sub 3/.