In this article, possibilities of electrochemical detection of various explosives containing electrochemically active nitro group are reviewed. Attention is paid both to the use of traditional mercury electrodes and non-traditional, recently developed electrodes based on mercury amalgams, bismuth films, boron-doped diamond films and carbon films in voltam-metric and amperometric mode.
Screen-printed, chemically modified and/or biologically modified electrodes are discussed as well. Advantages and disadvantages of electroanalytical techniques are briefly discussed together with their possible combination with a preliminary separation and preconcentration using liquid-liquid extraction or solid phase extraction.
Electrochemical detection of reducible explosives in flowing media using above mentioned electrodes is briefly disused, attention being paid to wall-jet, thin-layer, tubular and cylindrical arrangement of the detection system.