New Color Changing Materials Discovered for Chemical Threat Detection

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD -- A plume of unidentified smoke fills the air ahead of ground units on the battlefield. Immediately, a gray drone deploys, navigating the atmosphere to investigate the plume. As the drone returns, it’s no longer gray. It’s orange. That color change is due to a new coating on the drone that, when exposed to a chemical agent, instantly changes colors alerting warfighters to a threat compound. The notional scenario above illustrates the potential of colorimetric detection. As Soldiers come in contact with potential toxic chemical threats in the field, they need to know what they are dealing with so they can take the proper action. Based on the needs of Soldiers, scientists are developing new methods of chemical threat detection to keep Soldiers safe.