Preparation of Nitroglycerine Sensor Based on Photonic Crystal

Nitroglycerine (NG), also known as glyceryl trinitrate, can be used to make explosives and gunpowder. The NG-derived explosive is usually of great energetic power. At present, nitroglycerin is mainly determined with gas/liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. However, nitroglycerin is prone to complete explosion, high heat sensitivity and easy volatilization, resulting in the existing laboratory technology difficult to detect the NG-derived explosive eligibly. Fortunately, fluorescence detection can have the NG-drived explosive residues determined sensitively and rapidly. Here, a set of photonic crystal functional system was prepared to get the designed probe enhancing its emitting fluorescent signal that was yet able to quench with NG or substance from organic NG-explosive, hence realizing the highly sensitive detection of NG or organic NG-explosive through discrimination of the changing fluorescence intensity. With the core-shell nanosphere of polystyrene@silica as matrix, the silica hollow-sphere photonic crystals were prepared under self-assembly, then doped of Rhodamine 6G fluorescence probe solution into the photonic band gap at the appropriate wavelength to form a photonic crystal fluorescence sensor, finally. Excitated through the 365 nm-wavelength light, the fluorescent probe will emit an amplified fluorescent signal owing to the band edge and slow photon effect of the photonic band gap, whereas a quenching effect would be appearing on the fluorescent signal if nitroglycerin was present in the solution of probe. Through analysis of the quenching response, nitroglycerin or its sample can be detected quickly, and so can NG-derived explosive. According to different quenching effect of concentration-various samples, nitroglycerin and/or NG-derived explosive can be realized of semi-quantitative detection. Fluorescence detection has the advantages of high sensitivity, good selectivity, fast response speed, high stability and simple operation. Photonic crystal fluorescence sensor is of good universality, capable of improving its sensitivity via screening specific fluorescent probe or sensor array-defined interactive response, therefore bringing forth a good application prospect for forensic on-site rapid detection of explosives.