The application of Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) combined to high resolution Orbitrap<sup>TM</sup> mass spectrometry is explored here as a means of characterizing at the molecular level, and differenciating various plastic bonded explosives (PBX). This methodology allowed us to generate mass spectra for 83 samples (PEP500, Semtex H, Semtex 10, PG2, etc...) in less than 2 minutes per sample. Individually identifying all the constituting polymers and other interesting features on the mass spectra would have been a tedious challenge. Therefore, we developped and implemented a complementary methodology based on the systematic calculation of Kendrick's mass defects which allowed us to quickly identify the polymers present in each energetic formulation. We further were able to differenciate and discriminate between the different plastic explosives with the aid of principal component analysis, a multivariate statistical analysis approach often used to reduce the dimensionality of complex data. This methodology also permitted us to observe the effects that occur on these formulations in terms of polymeric composition after a blast. These results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing DART-HRMS/Kendrick mass defect analysis as a tool for the direct characterization and differentiation of PBX samples for forensic applications.

DART-HRMS/Kendrick mass defect analysis applied to the sourcing of plastic bonded explosives

2019 Spring National Meeting

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