Monitoring of vapor-phase nitro compounds using 226-nm radiation: fragmentation with subsequent NO resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization detection

The development of a novel technique for sensing trace vapors of NO 2 -containing compounds is reported. This technique is based on the use of one laser operating at 226 nm to both photofragment the target molecule and detect the characteristic NO fragment, formed from a rapid predissociation of NO 2 , by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and/or laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) via its A 2 Σ + -X 2 II (0,0) band origin.