Issue 5, 2023

Immobilization of Brønsted basic hexaniobate on the Lewis acidic zirconia using an emulsion assisted self-assembly strategy for synergistic boosting of nerve agent simulant decontamination

Abstract

The hydrolytic decontamination of organophosphorus nerve agents can be promoted using Brønsted bases or Lewis acids, but the fabrication of catalytic materials with both Lewis acidic centers and Brønsted base sites is a great challenge due to their essential incompatibility. Herein, a facile and straightforward emulsion assisted self-assembly approach has been developed to immobilize a Brønsted basic hexaniobate cluster on the Lewis acidic zirconia. The obtained [C16H33N(CH3)3]6KHNb6O19/ZrO2 (C16N-Nb6/ZrO2) exhibits a remarkable catalytic activity for the hydrolysis of a Sarin simulant (DMNP): 100% of DMNP was converted under ambient conditions without using basic additives. Based on the control experiments and spectroscopic analyses, a possible reaction mechanism was proposed, suggesting that such excellent catalytic performance of C16N-Nb6/ZrO2 is attributed to the synergistic effect between molecular level accessible Lewis acidic ZrO2 (activating substrate molecules) and Brønsted basic hexaniobates (activating water molecules). As a broad-spectrum catalyst, C16N-Nb6/ZrO2 also shows satisfactory performance for the oxidative decontamination of a sulfur mustard simulant.

Graphical abstract: Immobilization of Brønsted basic hexaniobate on the Lewis acidic zirconia using an emulsion assisted self-assembly strategy for synergistic boosting of nerve agent simulant decontamination

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
23 Nov. 2022
Accepted
13 Janv. 2023
First published
13 Janv. 2023

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 1436-1446

Immobilization of Brønsted basic hexaniobate on the Lewis acidic zirconia using an emulsion assisted self-assembly strategy for synergistic boosting of nerve agent simulant decontamination

H. Liu, X. Sun, J. Dong, C. Liu, W. Lu, Z. Xu, N. Zhen, D. Zhang, Y. Chi and C. Hu, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023, 10, 1436 DOI: 10.1039/D2QI02484E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements