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Lewis acid-assisted detection of nerve agents in water.

Author
Abstract
:

The five-coordinate compound, Salen((t)Bu)Al(Ac), prepared in situ from Salen((t)Bu)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((t)Bu)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((t)Bu)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((t)Bu)Al(NA)](+)[Ac](-) were determined computationally.

Year of Publication
:
2015
Journal
:
Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Volume
:
51
Issue
:
45
Number of Pages
:
9269-71
Date Published
:
2015
ISSN Number
:
1359-7345
URL
:
https://doi.org/10.1039/c5cc00466g
DOI
:
10.1039/c5cc00466g
Short Title
:
Chem Commun (Camb)
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