Methods for characterization of home-made and non-standard explosives in forensic science (Conference Presentation)

Availability of industrial explosives is increasingly limited. Thus, on the part of perpetrators, terrorists, ever greater attention is paid to illegal productions that are easily made from readily available raw materials. Alarming fact is the availability of information found on the internet. In the forensic field are often faced with the problem of analysis of tiny remnants post-blast residues. Residues are analysed comprehensively both in terms of organic and inorganic contents. Organic analysis - the use of the two-stage instrumental sequence in the order - primary instrumental separation technique and secondary sensitive analytical detection. As separation techniques will be applied methods of gas and liquid chromatography. Gas chromatography (GC) is used particularly to analyse volatile residues of explosives having a relatively high tension of vapours, characterized by a relatively high thermal stability (GC-MSD, GC-ECD). The technique of scanning electron microscopy in connection with EDS/WDS/microXRF analysis is employed to analyse samples containing inorganic components, the method allows not only a fundamental microanalysis of particles caught on the surfaces of the reference materials after explosions, but especially their distinction from ballast particles arising from contaminants occurring in the vicinity of the explosion. There are currently devices facilitating Confocal Raman Imaging from microparticles, or their sections directly in the SEM chamber or SEM/FIB dual systems. The new data from ongoing project “Identification of improvised explosives residues using physical-chemical analytical methods under real conditions after an explosion” will be presented.