1H-14N cross-relaxation in trinitrotoluene - a step toward improved landmine detection

Motivated by the lack of efficient detection techniques for metal-free trinitrotoluene (TNT) containing landmines, 1 H– 14 N cross-relaxation experiments on TNT have been performed using field-cycling spectroscopy in an electronically switchable volume coil. Using 1 H NMR detection (indirect method), the 14 N quadrupole spectra in several small (about 0.5 g) TNT samples of different producers are determined. The experiment is considered as a step toward a double resonance TNT landmine detection scheme using surface coils.