Electrospun metal–organic framework polymer composites for the catalytic degradation of methyl paraoxon

Current world events involving chemical warfare agents have resulted in the need for developing a novel engineered material for the decomposition of the nerve agents containing toxic P–F or P–CN bond as seen in G-agents and P–S bond as seen in VX. Engineered composites consisting of electrospun PMMA/Ti(OH)4/UiO-66 were fabricated and employed in the degradation of methyl paraoxon, a chemical warfare agent simulant. UiO-66 and other Zr based metal–organic frameworks have previously demonstrated their ability to catalytically hydrolyze the phosphonate ester bond. In this study, the PMMA/Ti(OH)4/UiO-66 composite has been found to decrease the half-life of the simulant methyl paraoxon to only 29 min with only a fraction of the MOF material, compared to 45 min for pure UiO-66. We conclude that the dispersion of UiO-66 particles on the engineered fibers allow for improved diffusion of the analyte into the pores. This is turn gives promise to other engineered forms of MOFs for improving the catalytic degradation of organophosphates.