Developing materials that can catalytically decontaminate chemical warfare agents (CWAs) under ambient conditions continues to be a significant goal in the scientific community. Due to its relatively slow rates of degradation in the environment, sulfur mustard (HD) remains a challenge to decontaminate under such conditions. We report a hybrid organic/inorganic nanomaterial based on organically-functionalized hexavanadate (V6) building blocks linked by 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxamide, N,N',N''-tris[2-hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]- (9CI) molecules in a polymer-like network, capable of catalyzing the aerobic oxidation of sulfides and exhibiting gelating properties in polar aprotic solvents. The gel swells instantaneously in polar aprotic solvents as well as the HD analog 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES), demonstrating sequestration ability of the gel network for CWA agents. Reoxidation of the V6 units by ambient O2 is the rate-limiting step in the catalytic cycle, and thus oxidation of CWA substrates is accompanied by a change in color from red to green as the V(V) centers are reduced, offering a method for detection of CWAs during the degradation process in addition to the sequestration and decontamination abilities. We thank the ARO (grant W911NF-12-1-0136) for support. 

Polyoxometalate-based catalytic gelating nanoarray for detection, sequestration, and decontamination of mustard agent analogs

248th National Meeting (2014)

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