Synthesis and characterisation of homemade urea nitrate explosive from commercial sources of urea
| Autor: | Joshua A. D'Uva, Ryan Fillingham, Simon W. Lewis, David DeTata, Robert Dunsmore |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Diesel exhaust
Ion chromatography Infrared spectroscopy chemistry.chemical_element Manganese Copper Pathology and Forensic Medicine Analytical Chemistry chemistry.chemical_compound chemistry Materials Chemistry Urea Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Urea nitrate Law Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry Spectroscopy Nuclear chemistry |
| Zdroj: | Forensic Chemistry. 26:100369 |
| ISSN: | 2468-1709 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.forc.2021.100369 |
| Popis: | The aim of this study was to investigate the preparation of urea nitrate (UN) using a range of urea sources followed by characterisation with analytical techniques routine to explosive analysis. The UN was prepared from lab grade urea, fertiliser urea, urea cold packs, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and Osmocote plant feed, resulting in six samples of UN as the Osmocote plant feed produced a blue and yellow product due to variation between products purchased at different times. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy revealed no notable differences between the samples apart from the blue UN product, which had a distinct peak in the IR spectra at 1150 cm−1. The Osmocote products could be discriminated by scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and ion chromatography (IC), as bulk samples contained a range of trace metals and ions. Analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) found 9 elements present at varying concentrations throughout the samples. The Osmocote products could be identified by the concentration of manganese, copper, and molybdenum while the DEF product could be discriminated as it contained a high concentration of nickel compared to other samples. ICP-MS has potential to further discriminate between the lab grade, fertiliser and cold pack samples, however, additional statistical and chemometric analysis is necessary. This study highlights that seized UN can be identified as being prepared from DEF or an Osmocote product, and contributes to the forensic intelligence of improvised explosives by reporting how UN can be commercially sourced, prepared and characterised. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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