Catalytic Degradation of Nerve Agents

Nerve agents (NAs) are a group of highly toxic organophosphorus compounds developed before World War II. They are related to organophosphorus pesticides, although they have much higher human acute toxicity than commonly used pesticides. After the detection of the presence of NAs, the critical step i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Agatino Zammataro, Rossella Santonocito, Andrea Pappalardo, Giuseppe Trusso Sfrazzetto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
Series:Catalysts
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/8/881
Description
Summary:Nerve agents (NAs) are a group of highly toxic organophosphorus compounds developed before World War II. They are related to organophosphorus pesticides, although they have much higher human acute toxicity than commonly used pesticides. After the detection of the presence of NAs, the critical step is the fast decontamination of the environment in order to avoid the lethal effect of these organophosphorus compounds on exposed humans. This review collects the catalytic degradation reactions of NAs, in particular focusing our attention on chemical hydrolysis. These reactions are catalyzed by different catalyst categories (metal-based, polymeric, heterogeneous, enzymatic and MOFs), all of them described in this review.
ISSN:2073-4344