Chemical explosive

Abstract: Trinitrotoluene, usually known as TNT, is a kind of chemical explosive with hazardous and toxic effects on the environment and human health. National and societal security concerns have dictated an increasing need for the analytical detection of TNT with rapidity, high sensitivity and low cost. This work demonstrates a novel method using L-cysteine-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) to assay TNT, based on the formation of a Meisenheimer complex between TNT and cysteine. The fluorescence (FL) of quantum dots quench because electrons of the QDs transfer to the TNT molecules via the formation of a Meisenheimer complex. TNT can be detected with a low detection limit of 1.1 nM. Studies on the selectivity of this method show that only TNT can generate an intense signal response. The synthesized QDs are excellent nanomaterials for TNT detection. In addition, TNT in soil samples is also analyzed by the proposed method.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for producing non-detonable and non-explosive parent-odor scent simulants of both detonable and entropy-burst chemical explosive materials. A detonable explosive material is a material that explosives with the aid of detonation while an entropy burst explosive material is a very sensitive energetic material that does not require detonation, but explodes through a spontaneous decomposition of its molecules into gaseous products. The invention also presents representative non-detonable, non-hazardous compositions of such simulants that can be safely and effectively utilized within a broad spectrum of biological and non-biological explosives detection programs, non-limiting examples being the training of biological search-and-detect creatures such as explosive detecting dogs and the calibration of electronic explosive detecting instruments that rely on the principles of vapor sampling for their operations.