The self-absorption temporal evolution of spectral lines emitted from laser-induced plasmas

•The electron temperature decreased sharply with the delay time increasing at earlier life time of plasma (t < 600 ns). Then, that tends to maintain with the delay time increasing.•The time-resolved electron density of laser plasmas has an exponential decay profile.•The temporal revolution of SA coefficients of different lines shows that the delay time range of 1.2 to 1.6 μs is the best time window for the accurate analysis of element concentrations using LIPs method.