Ability of various materials to detect explosive vapors by fluorescent technologies: a comparative study.

For the development of fluorescent sensors, one of the key points is choosing the sensitive material. In this article, we aim at evaluating, under strictly identical experimental conditions, the performance of three materials for the detection of dinitrotoluene (a volatile marker of trinitrotoluene) through different parameters: response time, fluorescence intensity, sensitivity, reversibility, reaction after successive exposures and long-term stability. The results are discussed according to the nature of the sensitive materials.

Ultra trace detection of explosives in air: development of a portable fluorescent detector.

This paper describes a system for the detection of nitroaromatic explosives consisting of a portable detector based on a specific fluorescent material. The developed sensor was able to perform an ultra trace detection of explosives, such as trinitrotoluene (TNT) or its derivate 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), in ambient air or on objects tainted with explosives. In the presence of nitroaromatic vapors, the fluorescence of the material was found to decrease due to the adsorption of nitroaromatic molecules on its specific adsorption sites.