SPECTROFLUOROMETRIC DETERMINATION OF 1,3,5-TRINITRO-1,3,5-TRIAZACYCLOHEXANE (HEXOGEN, RDX) AS A NITRAMINE TYPE EXPLOSIVE

RDX is one of the most important military explosives, It is a componen t of some plastic explosives which are frequently used in terrrorist a ttacks, Two fluorimetric methods have been described for the quantitat ive determination of RDX which are based on the detection of nitrite i ons. After a basic decomposition of RDX the nitrite ion can be detecte d by reaction with 4-aminofluorescein and by reactions forming a lumog allion-gallium(III) complex. These fluorimetric methods have been comp ared to a photometric reaction (Griess reaction) for determination of nitrite ions, It has been found that the fluorimetric methods have a h igher sensitivity than the photometric method and they have been used in a wider concentration range. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.