Catalyst renders nerve agents harmless

Phys.org  April 22, 2019 Commonly used filtration method as protection against chemical agents is limited in, because once a filter reaches its capacity, it needs to be regenerated, removed, or replaced. A team of researchers in the US (Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, Virginia Tech, Emory University, Kennesaw State University) sought to decompose the nerve agent Sarin and its simulant, dimethyl chlorophosphate (DMCP) into non lethal chemicals using zirconium polytungstate. To identify why a catalyst works they hypothesized that the isolated zirconium atoms were the active sites for this catalyst and they isolated […]