L-Gel Formulation and Decontamination Reaction of Its Active Ingredient (Oxone) Against Mustard and VX Nerve Agent Simulants

Abstract

L-Gel is an effective decontamination reagent against chemical and biological warfare agents. To achieve optimized formulation of L-Gel, several formulations with different proportional amounts of oxone (oxidizer) and Cab-O-Sil (gelling agent) were prepared and their viscosities and densities were measured. Final optimized formulation of gel was obtained as a 0.25 M aqueous solution of oxone gelled with 13%W/W of Cab-O-Sil EH-5. The L-Gel active ingredient (oxone) was tested against O,O,S-triethyl phosphorothioate (TEPT) as VX simulant and methyl phenyl sulfide (MPS) and chloroethyl phenyl sulfide (CEPS) as HD simulants. Decontamination of TEPT by a 10-fold excess amount of oxone was completed within 7.5 min with a kinetic rate constant of 0.097 S^?1. In the presence of oxone, MPS was converted to methyl phenyl sulfoxide and methyl phenyl sulfone with a higher reaction rate than CEPS, decontaminated product of which was chloroethyl phenyl sulfone.

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GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT