title: High-resolution Raman Spectroscopy for the Nanostructural Characterization of Explosive Nanodiamond Precursors.
abstract: The specific attributes of nanodiamonds have attracted increasing interest for electronics or biomedical applications. An efficient synthetic route towards nanodiamonds is via detonation of hexolite (i.e. a mixture of TNT [2,4,6-trinitrotoluene] and RDX [1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine]). In particular, detonation of hexolite crystallized by spray flash evaporation (SFE) yields extremely small diamonds (<4 nm). To unravel the detonation mechanism, a structural characterization of the explosives is required but is challenging due to their thermal instability. We demonstrate a combination of conventional Raman spectroscopy and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) for resolving morphological and structural differences of differently prepared hexolite nanocomposites. The experiments allow for the first time a structural differentiation of individual TNT and RDX crystals and 15-20 nm sized core-shell structures, consequently providing a general approach to investigate the actual composition of mixtures on the nanometer scale.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT), Albert-Einsteinstr. 9, 07745, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deckert-Gaudig
authors.affiliation: NS3E «Nanomatériaux pour les Systèmes Sous Sollicitations Extrêmes», French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis (ISL), 5 rue du Général Cassagnou, 68301, Saint-Louis, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pichot
authors.affiliation: NS3E «Nanomatériaux pour les Systèmes Sous Sollicitations Extrêmes», French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis (ISL), 5 rue du Général Cassagnou, 68301, Saint-Louis, France.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spitzer
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT), Albert-Einsteinstr. 9, 07745, Jena, Germany.|Institute of Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Volker
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7974
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Deckert
mesh_terms: D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D014227:Triazines / Q000737:chemistry*; D014303:Trinitrotoluene / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014227:Triazines; D014303:Trinitrotoluene; C009160:cyclonite
keywords: core-shell; nanoparticles; structure elucidation; surface analysis; tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy