Recent development and trends in the detection of peroxide-based explosives

Peroxide-based explosives (PBEs) are increasingly common in criminal and terrorist activity due to their easy synthesis and high explosive power. The rise in terrorist attacks involving PBEs has heightened the importance of detecting trace amounts of explosive residue or vapors. This paper aims to provide a review on the developments of techniques and instruments for detecting PBEs over the past ten years, specifically discussing advancements in ion mobility spectrometry, ambient mass spectrometry, fluorescence techniques, colorimetric methods, and electrochemical methods. We provide examples to illustrate their evolution and focus on new strategies for improving detection performance, specifically in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, high-throughput, and wide explosives coverage. Finally, we discuss future prospects for PBE detection. It is hoped this treatment will serve as a guide to the novitiate and as aid memoire to the researchers.

Automated summary

Peroxide-based explosives (PBEs) are becoming more common in criminal and terrorist activities due to their easy synthesis and high explosive power. This paper reviews the developments in techniques and instruments for detecting PBEs over the past ten years, focusing on advancements in ion mobility spectrometry, ambient mass spectrometry, fluorescence techniques, colorimetric methods, and electrochemical methods. The paper emphasizes the need for improved detection performance in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, high-throughput, and wide explosives coverage, and discusses future prospects for PBE detection.