Issue 45, 2015

Lewis acid-assisted detection of nerve agents in water

Abstract

The five-coordinate compound, Salen(tBu)Al(Ac), prepared in situ from Salen(tBu)AlBr and NH4Ac, forms Lewis acid–base adducts in aqueous solution with the G-type nerve agents, Sarin and Soman, and the VX hydrolysis product, ethylmethylphosphonate (EMPA). The resulting compounds, [Salen(tBu)Al(NA)]+[Ac] (with NA = Sarin, Soman, and EMPA) are sufficiently stable to be identified by ESI-MS. Molecular ion peaks were detected for every compound with little or no fragmentation. The distinctive MS signatures for the [Salen(tBu)Al(NA)]+ compounds provide a new technique for identifying nerve agents from aqueous solution. The energetics of the displacement of Ac by the nerve agents to form [Salen(tBu)Al(NA)]+[Ac] were determined computationally.

Graphical abstract: Lewis acid-assisted detection of nerve agents in water

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
21 Jan 2015
Accepted
11 Mar 2015
First published
12 Mar 2015

Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 9269-9271

Author version available

Lewis acid-assisted detection of nerve agents in water

R. R. Butala, W. R. Creasy, R. A. Fry, M. L. McKee and D. A. Atwood, Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 9269 DOI: 10.1039/C5CC00466G

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