Analysis of ascorbic acid based black powder substitutes by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Black powder substitutes are an important sub-group of explosive propellants in the United States because they are readily accessible, and can be used as fillers for improvised explosive devices. Many brands of black powder substitutes incorporate an ascorbic acid fuel source with potassium nitrate (KNO(3)) and/or potassium perchlorate (KClO(4)) oxidizer(s). A gradient high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-QToFMS) method has been developed for the analysis of both the organic and the inorganic constituents. The HPLC/ESI-QToFMS method was utilized to examine aqueous extracts of intact samples and post-burn residues from six different brands of ascorbic acid based powders. Aqueous extracts of the post-blast residues from two brands of ascorbic acid based propellant were also analyzed. The results showed that both the ascorbic acid fuel and the inorganic oxidizer(s) KClO(4) and/or KNO(3) were successfully detected via the [M-H](-) ion of ascorbic acid and the anions (ClO(4) (-) and NO(3) (-)) of the oxidizers. This method was proven to be a rapid and efficient procedure for the analysis of this class of explosives. The high mass resolution provided by the QToFMS instrument fulfills the degree of certainty required in a court of law. Published in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.