Detection of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-S-triazine (RDX) in sand particles using Raman spectroscopy

One of the most deadly legacies of the 20th century is the use of landmines in warfare. Anti-personnel landmines continue to have tragic, unintended consequences years after a battle and even the entire war has ended. It is thus very necessary to develop effective methods for landmine detection. Raman spectroscopy offers an alternative technique for vibrational spectroscopy analysis for the energetic compounds found in these landmines.; The main objective of this work was the detection in Ottawa sand particles of the powerful explosive hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-s-triazine (RDX), one of the principal component of landmines.{09}Interactions of RDX-sand were studied in solid-solid and solution-solid mixtures. These mixtures were also submitted to variation in temperature, exposition to UV light, amount of water added, variation in pH and aging. The results indicate that the spectroscopic signature of RDX and sand did not suffer spectroscopic modification. When the explosive was added to sand, RDX molecules changed from its beta phase to its more stable alpha phase. This only occurred in the solution-solid interaction and depended on the amount of explosive added. In presence of alkaline pH, UV light exposition and temperature above 40°C, the band assigned to the ring breathing mode at 882 cm-1 in the alpha phase of RDX decreased in intensity significantly. The bands at 1538 cm-1 1570 cm-1 and 1593 cm-1 assigned to asymmetric O → N → O stretching vibrations under these environmental conditions began to disappear. This leads to conclude that the explosive suffered degradation under these conditions.