Department of Chemistry, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro,
Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
* Correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail:
sschoi@sejong.ac.kr
Rationale: IMS has been widely used for the on-site detection
of explosives. Air sampling method is applicable only when the
concentration of explosive vapor is considerably high in the air, but
vapor pressures of common explosives such as TNT, RDX, and PETN are very
low. A test method for analyzing the vapor detection efficiency of
explosives with low vapor pressure via IMS was developed using
artificial vapor and collection matrices.
Methods: Artificial explosive vapor was produced by spraying an
explosive solution in acetone. Fifteen collection matrices of various
materials with woven or nonwoven structure were tested. Two arrangements
of horizontal and vertical positions of the collection matrices were
employed. Explosive vapor collected in the matrix was analyzed through
IMS.
Results: Only three collection matrices of stainless steel mesh
(SSM), polytetrafluoroethylene sheet (PFS), and lens cleansing paper
(LCP) showed the TNT and/or RDX ion peaks at explosive vapor
concentration of 49 ng/L. There was no collection matrix to detect PETN
vapor at lower than 49 ng/L. For the PFS, TNT and RDX were detected at
49 ng/L vapor concentration. For the LCP, TNT and RDX were detected at
vapor concentrations of 14 and 49 ng/L, irrespectively.
Conclusions: The difference in the explosive vapor detection
efficiencies could be explained by the adsorption and desorption
capabilities of the collection matrices.
The proposed method can be used
for evaluating the vapor detection efficiency of hazardous materials
with low vapor pressure.