Detect And Defuse Explosives By Spraying This Nano Ink

The first thing that comes to your mind regarding detection or neutralization of a bomb is a group of sniffer dogs which first locate the bomb and then a bomb squad comprising heavily armored astronaut like guys safely dispose it off. The other scenario that you might have visualized after hearing about bomb defusing must have been of a guy in a movie who dismantles a bomb completely and finds two wires: one wire neutralizes the explosive while the other triggers it. What I want to say by citing these two examples is that people believe the task of tracking and placating a bomb to be highly risky and technical thing. But how will you react if I tell you that even you can neutralize a bomb while you are on a flight in which the terrorists have planted one? Let me tell you that in a few years this might be actually possible and all you will require to pull off this feat will be a bottle of a nano ink resembling a pepper spray can. So nanotechnology has got yet another application in its vault. Scientists have revealed information regarding the development and successful testing of a nano material which is a type of ink. It can be used for detection and defusing of a wide variety of solid state and liquid explosives. The research work was presented at the ongoing 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

This nano material can be used in battlefields, airports, subways, etc. for safe disposal of bombs. The research team is led by Dr. Allen Apblett. He believes that this thing could save a lot of lives in the future. The nano material is a type of ink made of minute metal oxide nanoparticles. The liquid changes color from deep blue to pale yellow in presence of explosives. Also it converts from a metallic conductor to a non conducting material after detecting a bomb thus allowing electronic sensing as well. The color change feature allows us to sense the presence of vapors produced by the explosives. So the soldiers and fire fighters could include badges or other clothing accessories made from this material in their uniforms. The material can also be used in the monitoring devices at public places like air ports, subways, etc. Sensors made using this material can even be integrated into cell phones, etc.

This same color changing material can be used for neutralizing the detected explosives. The ink could be sprayed on the suspicious objects until the color changing doesn’t stop. The explosives could also be dipped in vats containing the ink. The security agencies are now a day most concerned about the peroxide based explosives which are made using hydrogen peroxide. These liquid explosives are easy to make and easy to detonate. Another chemical explosive which is used in highly dangerous types of improvised explosive devices(IEDs) and suicide jackets is triacetone triperoxide(TATP). Explosives made using this chemical are undetectable using the currently available techniques. Such bombs have caused huge losses to civilian life as well as army troops in the Middle East. These bombs can be easily detected and neutralized using the above mentioned nano material. The ink contains nanoparticles of a compound of Molybdenum which is widely used in missile parts and aerospace equipments. The ink reacts with peroxide and changes from dark blue to pale yellow or clear. When used as an electronic sensor, it becomes highly sensitive to TATP and detects even a 2-3 vapors of TATP in a room within half a minute (25-30 seconds). Thus this material can save a lot of lives lost in terrorist attacks. It can also be used to improve safety of chemistry labs in colleges and research institutes.

Dr.Apblett, professor of chemistry at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla has started a company Xplosafe in partnership with his colleagues for developing and marketing this novel application of nanotechnology. They hope to find commercial usage of this technology in less than a year at many busy airports around the world.

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