A facile method for the formation of mesoporosity within nonporous zirconium hydr(oxides) (ZrO2/Zr(OH)4) is presented and their detoxifying capabilities against dimethyl chlorophosphate (DMCP) are investigated. Nanoaggregates of ZrO2/Zr(OH)4 appear to be deposited on larger thin flakes of the same material. H2O2 is used to induce surface oxygen vacancies of synthesized ZrO2/Zr(OH)4 and, as a consequence, mesopores with an average diameter of 3.1 nm were formed. A surface area of H2O2-treated ZrO2/Zr(OH)4 was increased by an order of magnitude and shows enhanced reactivity toward DMCP. DRIFTS spectroscopy is employed to assess the reactivity differences between the H2O2-treated and untreated ZrO2/Zr(OH)4. Peaks at 1175 and 1144 cm-1 indicate the presence of asymmetric stretching of the O-P-O moiety within dimethyl phosphonate (DMHP), a decomposition product from DMCP, and a zirconium-bound methoxy group, respectively. It is suggested that the decomposition of DMCP proceeds through the consumption of bridged hydroxyl groups (b-OH) for both the untreated and H2O2-treated samples, as well as an additional hydrolytic decomposition pathway for the H2O2-treated sample.
Keywords: chemical warfare agent decomposition; mesopore formation; metal-oxides; nanoporous structures; nerve agent simulants; surface modification.