Detection without Special Coatings •
Pinnaduwage and colleagues detected TNT deposited on a pulse-heated piezoresistive microcantilever via deagration induced bending and resonance frequency shifting. Deflagration response. As the cantilever exposed to an explosive is heated, its temperature first lags behind the temperature of the reference cantilever (no explosives) because of the increased thermal load. Then as the explosive reaches the deflagration temperature, the exothermic process causes the temperature of the loaded cantilever to increase and exceed that of the reference cantilever. As the explosive leaves the cantilever, the temperature returns to that of the reference cantilever.
Nanosensors for trace explosive detection, Larry Senesac and Thomas G. Thundat, Materials Today, March 2008
S. Mukherji, IIT-Bombay (mukherji@iitb.ac.in)