DECONTAMINATION OF CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENT BY NANOCOMPOSITE ADSORBENT: A GC-MS STUDY

Abstract

The increase use of chemical warfare agents (CWA) as murder weapons in recent years despite its legal prohibition is alarming. Contamination of CWA to the victims and the environment poses serious health hazards, thus requires appropriate decontamination agents and methods to neutralise CWA into nontoxic products. Zeolites which are commonly used as adsorbents and catalysts have found new use as a decontamination agent. In this study, zinc oxide nanoparticles/silver nitrate-clinoptilolite zeolite (ZnO NPs/Ag-clinoptilolite zeolite) as a novel nanocomposite adsorbent was synthesised and tested as a decontamination agent for 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulphide (CEES) or commonly known as sulphur mustard simulant. The reaction of nanocomposite and nerve agent simulant was carried out in hexane solution and the decontamination process was monitored by gas chromatography mass spectrometer (GC-MS). From the GC-MS result, the hydrolysis product of CEES had been achieved, which is hydroxylethyl ethyl sulphide (HEES) indicating that decontamination of CWA was successful. This demonstrates that ZnO NPs/Ag-clinoptilolite has the potential to be used as a decontamination agent for CEES.
Keyword: Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA); 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulphide (CEES); gas chromatography mass spectrometer (GC-MS); decontamination; sulphur mustard (HD); nanocomposite

Description