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Detection of triacetone triperoxide by thermal decomposition peroxy radical chemical amplification coupled to cavity ring-down spectroscopy

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Abstract

Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is frequently used in improvised explosive devices because of its ease of manufacture and tremendous explosive force. In this paper, we describe a new method for detection of TATP, thermal decomposition peroxy radical chemical amplification cavity ring-down spectroscopy (TD-PERCA-CRDS). In this method, air is sampled through a heated inlet to which ~ 1 ppmv nitric oxide (NO) is added. To verify the purity of synthetic standards, the mid-infrared spectrum of TATP vapor was recorded. The thermal decomposition of TATP is shown to produce radicals which oxidize NO to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), whose concentration increase is monitored by optical absorption at 405 nm using a blue diode laser CRDS. The sensitivity could be improved through addition of ~ 1% ethane (C2H6), which fuels catalytic conversion of NO to NO2. The limit of detection of TD-PERCA-CRDS with respect to TATP is 22 pptv (1 s data), approximately six orders of magnitude below TATP’s saturation vapor pressure. Insights into the mechanism of TATP thermal decomposition, TD-PERCA-CRDS interferences, and the suitability of TD-PERCA-CRDS as a peroxy radical explosive detection method at security check points are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ezra Wood for sharing a preprint version of a manuscript and useful discussions.

Funding

This work was made possible by the financial support of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through a “Discovery grant.” YMT and MTS received financial support from NSERC’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program Integrating Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics from Earth to Space (IACPES).

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Youssef M. Taha, Matthew T. Saowapon & Hans D. Osthoff

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  1. Youssef M. Taha
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  2. Matthew T. Saowapon
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Correspondence to Hans D. Osthoff.

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Taha, Y.M., Saowapon, M.T. & Osthoff, H.D. Detection of triacetone triperoxide by thermal decomposition peroxy radical chemical amplification coupled to cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Anal Bioanal Chem 410, 4203–4212 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1072-0

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