Optical Absorption Measurements of RDX

Abstract

Optical absorption measurements on a variety of RDX samples in the 1.38-6.2 eV (200-900nm) wavelength range were undertaken to determine the sample-to-sample variations present in asreceived samples. Samples were also annealed at elevated temperatures and subjected to pressures as high as 20 GPa to determine the effects of temperature and pressure on the optical absorption spectra. A sample-to-sample variation in the optical absorption of as-received samples was found, with the onset of strong absorption occurring at between 3.6eV (345nm) to 4.1eV (280nm). Subjecting RDX to pressures of 0.3-16GPa lowered the onset of strong absorption at 4.1 eV and produced a weak absorption throughout the visible region. Annealing RDX at temperatures of 383 K increased the measured absorption throughout the UV and visible peaking at ~3.4 eV (360nm).