Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The DHS Science and Technology Directorate is conducting nanotechnology research in several areas related to explosives and explosives detection. These technology areas include the following: • Understanding heterogeneity of energetic materials: this research explores novel synthesis routes using three-dimensional hierarchical porous materials that can potentially lead to controlled and tunable particle sizes and shapes of energetic materials on the nanoscale and microscale. • Explosive/polymer interactions: the interactions of explosives with other media, specifically polymers as nanoparticles and microstructures, are explored to identify surfaces with switchable properties for swabbing or use in preconcentrating explosive samples. • Multifunctional nano-electro-optical-mechanical sensing platforms: multifunctional explosives detection technology is being investigated by combining nanoscale aluminum nitride piezoelectric transduction, graphene, and metamaterials.