Rapid degradation of nerve and blister agent simulants over a LiCl-encapsulated UiO-66-NH2/activated carbon catalyst in the atmosphere

Two typical chemical warfare agents—nerve agents and blister agents—pose a serious threat to human life. Under atmospheric conditions devoid of free water, however, the rapid degradation and complete elimination of these agents using anhydrous catalysts remain significant challenges. To overcome this limitation, a LiCl+AC-MOF composite catalyst with moisture-induced wetting surface is prepared by in-situ growing UiO-66-NH 2 on the activated carbon particles, and then confining LiCl crystallization in the nanocavities of UiO-66-NH 2 . In humid atmosphere (RH = 90%), the confined LiCl undergoes deliquescence within the UiO-66-NH 2 nanocavities, thereby generating a continuous wetting surface. This mechanism yields an impressive water uptake of 1.61 g g −1 , which significantly enhances the equilibrium water content at the gas-solid boundary of the composite catalyst. Leveraging the abundance of free water to the Zr sites, the composite catalyst facilitates the rapid hydrolytic degradation of the nerve agent simulant dimethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate with a half-life of 1.9 h at RH = 90%. For the blister agent simulant 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide, the catalyst not only cleaves the C S and C Cl bonds but also utilizes its wetting surface to accelerate the recombination of intermediate into final products (half-life = 0.4 min at RH = 70%). In summary, the highly efficient catalyst designed in this work spontaneously harvests atmospheric moisture to create a self-wetting surface. This distinctive surface chemistry enhances both the mass transfer of chemical warfare agent simulants and their subsequent active degradation at Zr sites, thereby substantially broadening the design scope for advanced chemical protective materials applicable to next-generation respirators and gas masks.