Detection of explosives based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

In this study we present a device based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for the detection of airborne explosives. The explosives are resublimated on a cooled nanostructured gold substrate. The explosives trinitrotoluene (TNT) and triacetone triperoxide (TATP) are used. The SERS spectrum of the explosives is analyzed. Thus, TNT is deposited from an acetonitrile solution on the gold substrate. In the case of TATP, first the bulk TATP Raman spectrum was recorded and compared with the SERS spectrum, generated by deposition out of the gas phase. The frequencies of the SERS spectrum are hardly shifted compared to the spectrum of bulk TATP. The influence of the nanostructured gold substrate temperature on the signals of TATP was studied. A decrease in temperature up to 200 K increased the intensities of the TATP bands in the SERS spectrum; below 200 K, the TATP fingerprint disappeared.