title: Detection of vapors of explosives and explosive-related compounds by ultraviolet cavity ringdown spectroscopy.
abstract: The detection of vapors of dinitrobenzenes and dinitrotoluenes by UV cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) was investigated. Absorption cross sections at 248 nm were estimated by measurements on saturated vapors and compared with solution-phase values. The computed subparts per 10(9) detection sensitivity with no effort at preconcentration was demonstrated through measurements on diluted flows. The factors affecting measurements on 1 atm total pressure were considered, and it was demonstrated that Rayleigh scattering by air will reduce the detection sensitivity by 5%-10%. The UV absorption spectra of these compounds are broad, resulting in a relatively poor selectivity for single-wavelength measurements with the UV CRDS technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218-2685, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Dagdigian