Effect of the water vapor density on the field dependence of the ion mobility increment for nitro compounds in air

Abstract

The dependence of the ion mobility increment coefficient α on the electric field strength in the presence of a variable water vapor density C = (0.3−15) × 1016 cm−3 in air has been studied for the ions of explosive nitro compounds including DNT (2,4-dinitrotoluene), TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene), and their degradation products DNB (1,3-dinitrobenzene) and TNB (1,3,5-trinitrobenzene). The influence of the water vapor density C on the α value decreases in the following sequence: DNB > TNB > DNT > TNT. The obtained dependences can be used for the creation and exploitation of experimental and commercial analytical ionization devices used for the detection of explosive vapors.