Amine-containing poly(vinylchloride) membranes for detecting polynitroaromatic vapors above land mines

Liliana Gheorghiu; William Rudolf Seitz; Diane Arbuthnot; Jerome L. Elkind

doi:10.1117/12.372866

21 December 1999 Amine-containing poly(vinylchloride) membranes for detecting polynitroaromatic vapors above land mines

Liliana Gheorghiu, William Rudolf Seitz, Diane Arbuthnot, Jerome L. Elkind

Proceedings Volume 3853, Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technologies II; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.372866
Event: Photonics East '99, 1999, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

The goal of our research is to develop a sensitive, rugged, real time sensor for land mine detection. Our method relies upon detecting the change in color arising in an amine- containing poly(vinylchloride) (PVC) film when exposed to polynitroaromatics (the main components of charge in a land mine) in the vapor phase. This change is a result of formation of visible light absorbing complexes between primary or secondary amines and polynitroaromatics. The complex with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) absorbs in the visible domain at 500 nm and the complex with 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), a common contaminant and a degradation product of military TNT, absorbs at 430 nm. Complex accumulates over time so that high sensitivity can be achieved by waiting. The rate of color formation for DNT is ca. 10^-5 absorbance units per minute in a saturated DNT vapor atmosphere, at 24 degrees Celsius, when the absorbance is measured through the membrane. Employing the membranes as waveguides would substantially improve sensitivity by increasing the pathlength.

Citation Download Citation

Liliana Gheorghiu, William Rudolf Seitz, Diane Arbuthnot, and Jerome L. Elkind "Amine-containing poly(vinylchloride) membranes for detecting polynitroaromatic vapors above land mines", Proc. SPIE 3853, Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technologies II, (21 December 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.372866

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