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PUBLICATIONS

Trace Detection and Chemical Analysis of Homemade Fuel-Oxidizer Mixture Explosives: Emerging Challenges and Perspectives

Published

Author(s)

Thomas Forbes, Shannon T. Krauss, John Gillen

Abstract

The chemical analysis of homemade explosives (HMEs) and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) remains challenging for fieldable analytical instrumentation and sensors. Complex explosive fuel-oxidizer mixtures, black and smokeless powders, flash powders, and pyrotechnics, often include an array of potential organic and inorganic components that present unique interference and matrix effect difficulties. The widely varying physicochemical properties of these components as well as external environmental interferents and background challenge many sampling and sensing modalities. This review provides perspective on these emerging challenges, critically discusses developments in sampling, sensors, and instrumentation, and showcases advancements for the trace detection of inorganic-based explosives.
Citation
Trac-Trends in Analytical Chemistry
Volume
131
Pub Type
Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2020.116023
Local Download

Keywords

Homemade explosives, Fuel-oxidizer mixture explosives, Black powders, Black powder substitutes, Pyrotechnics, Propellants, Explosives detection, Security, Forensic science
Trace evidence, Forensic Science, Chemical / Biological / Radiological / Nuclear / Explosives (CBRNE) and Analytical chemistry

Citation

Forbes, T. , Krauss, S. and Gillen, J. (2020), Trace Detection and Chemical Analysis of Homemade Fuel-Oxidizer Mixture Explosives: Emerging Challenges and Perspectives, Trac-Trends in Analytical Chemistry, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2020.116023, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=930432 (Accessed October 9, 2025)

Issues

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Created September 3, 2020, Updated July 28, 2021
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