Silicon quantum dot sensors for an explosive taggant, 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB).

ABSTRACT

Silicon quantum dots obtained by the reaction of magnesium silicide with ethylenediamine dihydrochloride were utilized to investigate the sensing mechanism and sensitivity for DMNB detection applications. Sensing DMNB provided us with evidence that Si QDs with a higher lying conduction band have better sensitivity compared to CdSe QDs.