Electrospun Nanofiber Sensor for Sensitive and Selective Sensing of Nitro-Based Explosives in Aqueous Solution

Fluorescent nanofibers are prepared through electrospinning technique using mixed solvents. The polymer composition and mixed solvents are optimized to generate the nanofibrous film with best morphology. The fluorescence film is further used for the detection of nitro based compounds, such as picric acid (PA), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene(TNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine  (RDX) in aqueous phase. The non-linear Stern-Volmer (SV) plot for PA is observed and possibly can be attributed to the energy transfer process. For TNT, DNT and RDX, the linearity of SV plot can be observed during the investigated concentration range. Furthermore, the detection mechanism for different explosives is also discussed. The as-prepared explosive sensor shows high sensitivity, good selectivity, cost effectiveness and reusability and holds great promise in aqueous explosive detection.