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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/11679| Title: | A membrane for in-situ optical detection of organic nitro compounds based on fluorescence quenching |
| Authors: | U.S. Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency. University of New Hampshire. Dept. of Chemical Engineering. University of New Hampshire. Dept. of Chemistry. Seitz, W. Rudolf Chen, Jian. Sundberg, Donald C. |
| Keywords: | Explosives Fluorescence quenching Sensor Fiber optics Nitroaromatics Nitroaromatic compounds Chemical detectors TNT |
| Publisher: | Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Special report (Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.)) ; 91-1. |
| Description: | Special Report Abstract: Quenching of emission from fluorescent membranes was evaluated for detecting organo nitro compounds used as explosives. The most sensitive membrane is prepared using solvent casting from cyclohexanone to incorporate pyrenebutyric acid into cellulose triacetate plasticized with isodecyldiphenyl phosphate. The response appears to follow the Stem-Vollmer law for TNT and DNT. The membrane also responds to RDX, but with less sensitivity. Detection limits are approximately 2 ppm for DNT and TNT and 10 ppm for RDX. Attempts were made to adapt the membrane for remote in-situ measurements. In this context, the extent of quenching needs to be determined from the decrease in fluorescence lifetime because this type of measurement is fairly impervious to drift and interference. Fluorescence intensities were measured remotely through fiber optics; however, this was only done when the load resistance in the detection circuit was large, such that the fluorescence decay reflected the RC time constant of the detection electronics rather than the fluorescence lifetime. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/11679 |
| Appears in Collections: | Special Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR-91-1.pdf | 2.52 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |