Chemical Warfare Agent Detoxification

First used on a large scale during World War I, chemical warfare agents (CWAs) continue to terrorize military and civilian populations. With an international ban and several treaties calling for worldwide CWA elimination, there is continued need for materials which allow for safe handling and detoxification of these weapons. Nerve agents (e.g. VX and GD) and mustard agents (e.g. HD) are the most prevalent CWAs due to their effectiveness and ease of synthesis.

In the Hupp group, we capitalize on both structural components of MOFs to effectively combat simulants of these chemicals simultaneously. Once a promising material is found our collaborators test our materials against real CWAs. Our targets include 1) using the MOF’s metal oxide-like nodes to hydrolyze nerve agents, and 2) using the MOF’s linkers or guest molecules to selectively oxidize mustard agents. By understanding and optimizing each of these processes separately, we hope to achieve a superior and robust catalyst for CWA detoxification.

Selected Publications

Islamoglu, T.; Atilgan, A.; Moon, S.-Y.; Peterson, G. W.; DeCoste, J. B.; Hall, M.; Hupp, J. T.; Farha, O. K., Cerium(IV) vs Zirconium(IV) Based Metal–Organic Frameworks for Detoxification of a Nerve Agent. Chemistry of Materials 2017, 29 (7), 2672-2675.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b04835

Atilgan, A.; Islamoglu, T.; Howarth, A. J.; Hupp, J. T.; Farha, O. K., Detoxification of a Sulfur Mustard Simulant Using a BODIPY-Functionalized Zirconium-Based Metal-Organic Framework. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2017, 9 (29), 24555-24560.
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b05494

Goswami, S.; Miller, C. E.; Logsdon, J. L.; Buru, C. T.; Wu, Y. L.; Bowman, D. N.; Islamoglu, T.; Asiri, A. M.; Cramer, C. J.; Wasielewski, M. R.; Hupp, J. T.; Farha, O. K., Atomistic Approach toward Selective Photocatalytic Oxidation of a Mustard-Gas Simulant: A Case Study with Heavy-Chalcogen-Containing PCN-57 Analogues. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2017, 9 (23), 19535-19540.
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b07055

Mondloch, J. E.; Katz, M. J.; Isley, W. C., 3rd; Ghosh, P.; Liao, P.; Bury, W.; Wagner, G. W.; Hall, M. G.; DeCoste, J. B.; Peterson, G. W.; Snurr, R. Q.; Cramer, C. J.; Hupp, J. T.; Farha, O. K., Destruction of chemical warfare agents using metal-organic frameworks. Nat Mater 2015, 14 (5), 512-6.
DOI: 10.1038/NMAT4238