Education Students Present & Graduate :

1. Decomposition rate constants, heats of associations, and ion lifetimes of explosives in air at ambient pressureG.A. Eiceman, R. Rajapakse, M. Menlyadiev, New Mexico State University • Purpose/ Relevance: Determine kinetic and thermodynamic properties (in title) of gas phase ions of explosives at ambient pressure using a broad selection of high explosives and improvised explosives. • Innovation: No measurements or understandings of these properties are reported for explosives and yet these properties underlie the fundamentals of response in trace detectors of all kinds where atmospheric pressure ionization is employed including mass spectrometers and mobility spectrometers. • This Year outcome: The thermal properties of product ions of a range of explosives including chloride adduct ions for DNT, TNT, and PETN were found to exceed temperatures of 240°C with ion lifetimes in excess of 20 ms in air at ambient pressure. • Long-range impact: These ions are more robust than previously expected and could influence design considerations on designs of automated sampling of materials and designs of new generations of trace detectors. • Picture:

2. Decomposition rate constants, heats of associations, and ion lifetimes of explosives in air at ambient pressureG.A. Eiceman, R. Rajapakse, M. Menlyadiev, New Mexico State University • Education Students Present & Graduate: • PhD Student, X. An, graduated with thesis entitled: KINETICS OF DECOMPOSITION OF GAS PHASE IONS OF ESTERS AND KETONES IN AIR AT AMBIENT PRESSURE USING DIFFERENTIAL MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY AND ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY, staff at company in Houston, TX • PhD Student- R. Rajapakse, thesis work in progress • PhD Student -M. Menlyadiev , thesis work in progress • Papers/Patents/Presentations: • FIELD DECOMPOSITION OF IONS IN DIFFERENTIAL MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY, 19th International Conference for Ion Mobility Spectrometry, Albuquerque, NM July 19, 2010. • Transition to Industry or Collaboration with Industry: • Beginning discussions with a company on sampling. Discussions with second company on proposal for innovative sampling of IEDs. • Next Year: Extend temperature range of studies to 350C with improved materials in kinetic mobility spectrometry.