Feb. 12, 2013 Ever wonder how sometimes people still get through
security with explosives on their person? Research done in the
University of Alberta's Department of Chemical and Materials
Engineering has revealed a new way to better detect these
molecules associated with explosive mixtures. A team of
researchers including post-doctoral fellows Seonghwan Kim,
Dongkyu Lee and Xuchen Liu, with research associate Charles Van
Neste, visiting professor, Sangmin Jeon from the Pohang
University of Science and Technology (South Korea), and
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering professor
Thomas Thundat, has found a method of using receptor-free
nanomechanical infrared spectroscopy to increase recognition of
chemical molecules in explosive mixtures. Detecting trace
amounts of explosives with mixed molecules presents a formidable
challenge for sensors with chemical coatings. The nanomechanical
infrared spectroscopy used by the Univesity of Alberta research
team provides higher selectivity in molecular detecti