The application of single photon ionization in combination with mass-selective detection by time-of-flight mass spectrometry is described for the rapid detection of the nitro-containing explosives and explosives-related compounds nitrobenzene, 1,3-dinitrobenzene, o-nitrotoluene, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, as well as the peroxide-based explosive triacetone triperoxide in the gas phase. The technique is demonstrated to be a plausible approach for laser-based rapid detection of explosives. The limits of detection for nitrobenzene and 2,4-dinitrotoluene using SPI were also measured and determined to be 17-24 (S/N approximately 2:1) and approximately 40 ppb (S/N approximately 2:1), respectively.

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The falloff behavior of the CH3 + OH recombination reaction CH3 + OH -CH30H (la) has been quantitatively investigated for the first time. Methyl decay profiles were measured in a flow reactor at 300 K and in a pressure range between 0.3 and 6.2 mbar. The experimental conditions were such that a possible channel to 'CH, + H 2 0 did not contribute strongly to the CH3 profiles. Rate coefficients were extracted from the data by comparison of the experimental profiles with computer simulations. The results are in accord with the limiting rate coefficient suggested by Hochanadel et al., km1,(298 K) = 9.3 X 10-" cm3 molecule-' s-I.l The experimental falloff curve is described by use of this value for k", together with an interpolation formula given by Tree: from which an approximate value for the low-pressure limit kola = (2.5 1.0) X cm6 molecule-z s-l has been derived (bath gas helium). For a quantitative assessment of the possible channel to 'CHI + HzO, reaction Id, measurements of H20 were carried out, yielding an estimated upper limit for the rate coefficient of kId(300 K) 5 5 X cm3 molecule-' s-l.

The ultrafast laser-induced photoionization and photodissociation processes of the nitroaromatic containing explosive and explosive related compounds (ERCs) nitrobenzene (NB), 1,3-dinitrobenzene (DNB), m-nitrotoluene (MNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) have been investigated at three laser wavelengths and power densities using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Examination of the mass spectra of these compounds reveals the enhanced formation of the molecular ion [M ϩ ] when ultraviolet (332 nm) and visible (495 nm) light is used relative to infrared (795 nm) radiation. In addition, at 795 nm and a power density of 3.5 ϫ 10 14 W/cm 2 , the presence of a competition between multiphoton ionization (MPI) and Coulomb explosion (CE) channels is revealed by peak shape analysis, and is thought to be operative under these conditions for all of the molecules investigated. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], and polyatomic aromatic organic molecules [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23], has been the subject of intense investigation. These studies have focused on the fundamental interaction of the laser pulse with the atomic or molecular system, and have generally found a number of operative ionization and dissociation mechanisms present, which are sensitive to the laser wavelength and power density. In addition, a number of studies have also been dedicated to the investigation of the analytical usefulness of femtosecond laser ionization toward molecular specific detection. A prime example is the application to the ionization and detection of the explosives and explosives related compounds pioneered by . Their studies focused on an understanding of the mass spectra obtained using ultrafast laser pulses in conjunction with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, M ϩ ion formation, and specific molecular fragments that could be assigned to a particular precursor species. Of particular interest was the demonstration of isomer dependent mass spectra for the three isomers of nitrotoluene.The motivation to apply femtosecond laser ionization to the study of explosives and ERCs originated from previous laser ionization work, which found that nanosecond laser ionization in the ultraviolet led to extensive molecular fragmentation [31][32][33][34][35][36]. The extensive fragmentation was determined to be non-useful for species-specific identification, even though abundant NO ϩ ions were observed in the mass spectra [37]. The presence of NO ϩ in the mass spectra of these species naturally raised questions regarding its formation. Mechanistically, it was discovered that the dissociative lifetimes of the intermediate states involved in the ionization process were about a few hundred femtoseconds, and that this rapid dissociation led to the extensive fragmentation observed in the mass spectra. Further, the presence of NO ϩ in the mass spectra of these species was attributed to rapid dissociation of the parent molecule (RNO 2 ) producing the NO 2 fragment. The NO 2 molecule undergoes an additional photon absorptio...