Development of Nanocrystalline Zeolite Materials for the Decontamination of Chemical Warfare Agents

摘要

The main objective of this research is to use novel nanocrystalline zeolite materials synthesized in our laboratories for the decontamination of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). A wide range of macroscopic and microscopic tools have been used to evaluate the chemistry of CWA simulants with nanocrystalline zeolite materials. In these studies, we have focused our attention on the decontamination of 2-CEES and DMMP, two simulants for mustard gas. We have used a flow cell apparatus to evaluate the adsorption capacity of 2-CEES on nanocrystalline zeolites. We have shown that the adsorption capacity is increased on these materials relative to commercial materials. Second, we have used FT-IR spectroscopy to follow the adsorption and decontamination chemistry of 2-CEES and DMMP on nanocrystalline ZSM-5 and NaY. Third, we have begun to use computational chemistry to understand better how the real agent will interact with these materials so that rational choices for which simulant to use with a given zeolite material can be made. Fourth, we have begun to evaluate new materials including cation-exchanged zeolites for decontamination chemistry.