Diverse innovative fabrics with specific functionalities have been developed for requirements such as self-decontamination of chemical/biological pollutants and toxic nerve agents. In this work, Zr(OH)4 -coated nylon-6,6 nanofiber mats were fabricated for the decontamination of nerve agents. Nylon-6,6 fabric was prepared via the electrospinning process, followed by coating with Zr(OH)4 , which was obtained by the hydrolysis of Zr(OBu)4 by a sol-gel reaction on nanofiber surfaces. The reaction conditions were optimized by varying the amounts of Zr(OBu)4 ,the reaction time, and the temperature of the sol-gel reaction. The composite nanofibers show high decontamination efficiency against diisopropylfluorophosphate, which is a nerve agent analogue, due to its high nucleophilicity that aids in the catalysis of the hydrolysis of the phosphonate ester bonds. Composite nanofiber mats have a large potential and can be applied in specific fields such as military and medical markets.
Keywords: chemical warfare agents; decontamination; electrospinning; nerve agent analogues; sol-gel reaction; zirconium hydroxide.
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