Overview of nano enabled sensor for analysis of explosive substances

Abstract

Threats of armed conflict and terrorist attacks present difficult challenges for defense agencies around the world and are an increasing source of worry for the public and security-conscious policymakers. The environmental monitoring of residue or discarded explosives in soil, as well as the detection of ultra-low levels of explosive compounds in remote areas or under extreme conditions for anti-terrorist activities, continue to pose significant challenges. Most explosives produce very little vapors, making it difficult to detect them with common techniques for other compounds. Due to a number of factors, including the large variety of explosives substances, the enormous number of deployment methods, and the dearth of low-cost sensors with high sensitivity and selectivity makes explosive detection very complicated and expensive task. To defeat explosives-based terrorism, sensors must have high sensitivity and selectivity as well as the capacity to produce and deploy them at lower costs. Nanotechnology-based sensors have an excellent possibility of meeting all the criteria for a successful approach to explosive trace detection. The design and analytical capabilities of explosive detection systems employing nanomaterial as signal transducers are covered in this overview. The review article also discusses the importance of nano-enabled technologies for the explosive detection in security applications, gives background on the technology, and identifies other issues that need to be resolved.