Feliciano Crespo, Raquel

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    Diffracted light contrast: A chemical application
    (2010) Feliciano Crespo, Raquel; Castro Rosario, Miguel E.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Irizarry, Roberto; Mina, Nairmen; Department of Chemistry; Suárez, O. Marcelo
    There is a tremendous interest in the development of microscopy tools that can provide important information at a cost significantly smaller than those offered by traditional electron microscopes. With the purpose of learning about a new microscopy tool and at the same time contribute to the current body of understanding related to the chemistry of explosives, we report here on spectroscopy and microscopy measurements performed on trinitrotoluene (TNT). Crystals and non-crystalline TNT samples were characterized with diffracted light microscopy (DLC), near IR spectroscopy and UV visible absorption spectroscopy. DLC is an optical microscopy tool under development elsewhere claimed to allow 3 dimensional observations of materials. The technique was employed in the characterization of crystalline and non crystalline TNT particles, exposed and non-exposed to sunlight. A colored solution is observed upon sunlight exposure to TNT in the presence of a protic solvent. The solution exhibit light absorption in the visible region of the spectra: no absorption is observed in TNT solutions not exposed to sunlight. New bands are observed in the near IR spectra of TNT deposits exposed to sunlight. The advantages and limitations of the DLC to the characterization of this system as well as the chemistry of sunlight exposed TNT based on our results will be discussed.