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Color-changing film detects chemical weapons

Mar 2, 2015

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

A new way of detecting chemical weapons: thin-film materials change color in response to chemical warfare agents.

In today’s world, in which the threat of terrorism looms, there is an urgent need for fast, reliable tools to detect the release of deadly chemical warfare agents (CWAs)

According to a report in the scientific journal ACS Macro Letters, scientists are reporting new progress toward thin-film materials that could rapidly change colors in the presence of CWAs — an advance that could help save lives and hold aggressors accountable.

An ACS release reports that in their paper, Timothy M. Swager and Jonathan G. Weis point out that there are many techniques available to detect CWAs. One of the most effective ways for a sensor to show quickly whether chemicals weapons are in the environment is through a distinct color change.

Several tests can do this when they’re exposed to CWAs, but of these, most are based on liquids, which are not as practical as thin films.

Thin films are critical for real-time detection because they are easier to use and can work continuously. Swager and Weis wanted to address this gap.

According to Homeland Security News wire, with that goal in mind, the researchers produced a new thin-film material and tested it using a substance that mimics a chemical nerve agent. It rapidly changed color in response to the agent. The researchers conclude that a family of such materials could be developed to sense various chemical threats.

Funding for the research was provided by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, an agency within the United States Department of Defense and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosives).

DTRA’s main functions are threat reduction, threat control, combat support, and technology development. The agency is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. DTRA employs 2,000 civilian and military personnel at more than 14 locations around the world, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Ukraine.