IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology | 2021
High-Resolution Terahertz Spectroscopy for Investigation of Energetic Materials During Their Thermal Decomposition
Abstract
The possibilities of using high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy for studying the composition of vapors of energy materials during their thermal decomposition were investigated. A high resolution nonstationary spectrometer for gas analysis based on the phase-shift of 115–178 GHz radiation acting on gas and a system heating the measuring cell and the reaction volume were developed and implemented. Possible mechanisms of thermal decomposition were found for four substances (ammonium nitrate, pentaerythritetetranitrate, octogen, triaminotrinitrobenzene) and sets of substances appearing during their thermolysis were determined experimentally. The results obtained show that high-resolution spectroscopy operating on nonstationary effects is a promising technique for qualitative analysis of multicomponent gas mixtures of the thermal decomposition products of explosives, including the appearance of products at different stages of sample heating. Besides the developed method can be used for the analysis of gas mixtures (gases, vapors, natural, and thermal decomposition products) of various origins for many applications (biology, medicine, agricultural applications).