Thermal control of organic semiconductors for trace detection of explosives
Abstract
Organic semiconductors can be applied as ultra-sensitive fluorescent sensors for detecting trace vapours of explosives. The detection of explosives is manifest by the fluorescence quenching of the sensors. However, for many organic fluorescent sensors, the fluorescence quenching is irreversible and imposes a limitation in terms of reusability. Here we present a study of the thermal control of thin-film fluorescent sensors made from the commercial fluorescent polymer Super Yellow (SY). Thermal control of the sensor's temperature results in the desorption of the absorbed analytes, nitroaromatic explosives (2,4-DNT and DNB), and a taggant molecule (DMDNB). The amount of photoluminescence (PL) quenching and the desorption temperature of analytes provides a route to discriminate between the analytes, and additonally make the SY sensors reusable.
Citation
Ogugu , E B , Gillanders , R N , Mohammed , S & Turnbull , G A 2023 , ' Thermal control of organic semiconductors for trace detection of explosives ' , Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics , vol. 25 , no. 43 , pp. 29548-2955 . https://doi.org/10.1039/d3cp02868b
Publication
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1463-9076Type
Journal article
Description
The authors acknowledge funding from NATO Science for Peace & Security under grant agreement MYP G5355. Edward B. Ogugu acknowledges funding from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK.Collections
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