Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs) such as bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, mustard gas, are a continuing threat to military combatants and civilian personnel due to rogue use of these chemical weapons. This threat has led to a need for the development of new materials that can capture and decontaminate these CWAs. These types of materials have applications in filtration and protection systems such as gas masks and garments. One such material that has shown potential is TiO2 nanofibers (NFs). Mixed phase TiO2 NFs have been shown to have enhanced photocatalytic activity over TiO2 nanoparticles. This photocatalytic activity can be further enhanced by infusing the TiO2 NFs with Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). PEDOT acts as a hole conducting layer improving the separation between the electron and holes produced when a photon of light is absorbed, resulting in improved photocatalytic activity. In this study the photocatalytic activity of PEDOT-TiO2 NFs was tested against the mustard gas simulant 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES). Mixed phase PEDOT-TiO2 NFs show greatly improved photocatalytic activity over bare mixed phase TiO2 NFs with a half-life under 20 minutes.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) infused TiO2 nanofibers for photocatalytic decontamination of mustard gas simulant

254th National Meeting (2017)

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