Towards the fluorogenic detection of peroxide explosives through host-guest chemistry

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Peroxide explosives pose significant security risks.
• Developing sensitive and selective detection methods for explosives is crucial.
• Fluorescent sensing offers a rapid and sensitive detection approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel dansyl-modified β-cyclodextrin derivatives as fluorescent sensory systems.
• To investigate the direct fluorescent detection of diacetone diperoxide (DADP) and triacetone triperoxide (TATP) in aqueous media.
• To evaluate the sensitivity and selectivity of the developed sensors towards these peroxide explosives.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of two dansyl-modified β-cyclodextrin derivatives.
• Fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to monitor the interaction with explosives.
• The sensing mechanism was investigated based on guest-induced displacement of the dansyl moiety.

Main Results:

• Both synthesized cyclodextrin derivatives effectively detected DADP and TATP in aqueous solutions.
• The sensing mechanism involved the displacement of the dansyl group by the peroxide guests, leading to fluorescence quenching.
• The systems demonstrated higher sensitivity towards triacetone triperoxide (TATP) compared to diacetone diperoxide (DADP).

Conclusions:

• Dansyl-modified β-cyclodextrin derivatives serve as effective fluorescent sensors for peroxide explosives.
• The developed sensory systems provide a direct and sensitive method for detecting TATP and DADP in aqueous environments.
• These findings contribute to the development of advanced security technologies for explosive detection.