Reactions of VX, GD, and HD with Zr(OH)₄: Near Instantaneous Decontamination of VX

Abstract

Zirconium hydroxide was evaluated for the ability to detoxify chemical warfare agents GD, HD, and VX. Observed half-lives were 8.7 min, 2.3 h, and 1 min, respectively. Owing to its extremely fast reaction rate, the mechanism for VX was further characterized. Zirconium hydroxide samples were calcined at temperatures ranging from 150 to 900 °C to investigate the effect of surface speciation on VX hydrolysis rates. NMR, TGA/DSC, TEM, and potentiometric tritration reveal the importance of the acidic, bridging OH groups of Zr(OH)4 which are proposed to protonate and catalytically hydrolyze VX in a manner similar to autocatalysis by EMPA in solution.

Nanostructured Metal Oxides for Stoichiometric Degradation of Chemical Warfare Agents

“…Commercial zirconium hydroxide (Mel Chemicals) was evaluated for its ability to detoxify CWAs GD, HD, and VX (Bandosz et al 2012 ). The observed half-lives were 8.7 min, 2.3 h, and 1 min, respectively.…”

Instantaneous Hydrolysis of Nerve‐Agent Simulants with a Six‐Connected Zirconium‐Based Metal–Organic Framework

“…[1a,2] Although tremendous effort has been invested in developing modified activated carbons or metal oxides for adsorbing or chemically altering this class of CWAs,issues of low capacity and/or slow degradation kinetics have hobbled real-world implementation. [3] Thus,t here is ac ompelling need to develop new materials that can be incorporated into protective equipment for rapid detoxification of nerve agents or used for the elimination of large stores of CWAs.…”

A facile ceria–zirconia binary oxide used for degradation of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide

“…Its basicity and easily achieved nanocrystallinity with large surface area provide the potential in application as a new kind of reactive sorbent. Furthermore, dopant modification can optimize the structural defects of the nanocrystalline ceria [18][19][20][21], which may be further beneficial for degradation. Zirconia is a common dopant for ceria which has been proved to be able to improve the oxygen mobility, the thermal resistance and the catalytic activity of CeO 2 .…”

“…These organophosphates were all degraded 100 % within 30 min. Some other literatures investigated the zirconium hydroxide used as a reactive sorbent [21]. It exhibited fast degradation rates towards VX and GD but slow degradation rate towards HD.…”