Most explosive detection technologies have been focused on nitro-based military explosives because, indeed, they have figured in international terrorist incidents. Not only are they readily available through purchase or theft or from sponsoring states, but methods for home synthesis of TNT, PETN and RDX are widely available. Presently substantial resources are being committed to developing expl...

In this work we evaluate the influence of thermal desorber temperature on the analytical response of a swipe-based thermal desorption ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) for detection of trace explosives. IMS response for several common high explosives ranging from 0.1 ng to 100 ng was measured over a thermal desorber temperature range from 60 °C to 280 °C. Most of the explosives examined demonstra...

New techniques for the field detection of inorganic improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are urgently developed. Although ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has been proved to be the most effective method for screening organic explosives, it still faces a major challenge to detect inorganic explosives owing to their low volatilities. Herein, we proposed a strategy for detecting trace inorganic expl...

Explosives are a common soil contaminant at a range of sites, including explosives manufacturing plants and areas associated with landmine detonations. As many explosives are toxic and may cause adverse environmental effects, a large body of research has targeted the remediation of explosives residues in soil. Studies in this area have largely involved spiking 'pristine' soils using explosives ...

The development of a portable and easy-to-use device for the detection of explosives with high sensitivity and selectivity is in high demand for homeland security and public safety. In this study, we demonstrate miniaturized devices depending on the upconversion ratiometric luminescent probe for point-of-care (POC) assay of explosives with the naked-eye. When the PEI-coated upconversion nanopar...

Time-domain terahertz spectroscopy (TDTS) has been shown to be a promising tool in detection of explosives and explosive related compounds. To date, TDTS for many explosives has been limited to spectral regions <3 THz. With recent improvements in emitters and sensors of THz radiation, we report the THz absorption spectra over an extended frequency band from 0.5 to 6 THz for four explosives: RDX...

A trace explosives detection system typically contains three subsystems: sample collection, preconcentration, and detection. Sample collection of trace explosives (vapor and particulate) through large volumes of airflow helps reduce sampling time while increasing the amount of dilute sample collected. Preconcentration of the collected sample before introduction into the detector improves the se...

Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), combining good separation characteristics with highly specific and sensitive detection, is the method of choice for forensic trace analysis of explosives. Principles of operation and instrumentation of several LC/MS interface/ionization modes are described. Among the various LC/MS interfaces and ionization modes, electrospray ionization (ESI)-LC/...

The detection of explosives is a challenging topic. The nitrogen-14 nuclear quadrupole resonance technique exploits the transitions between the energy levels split by the quadrupole interaction to detect the presence of explosives. It is a very promising new technique owing to its unambiguous detection and identification of explosives with low false alarm, high sensitivity and fast detection. T...