Rapid adsorption and removal of sulfur mustard with zeolitic imidazolate frameworks ZIF-8 and ZIF-67

This study applies two isostructural zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8 and ZIF-67) to rapidly adsorb and remove sulfur mustard (HD), a chemical warfare agent. Because HD is extremely toxic, some of the studies were conducted using an HD simulant, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES), to understand the effect of solvent polarity on adsorption. Further, CEES and real HD were subsequently adsorbed and removed from aqueous solutions using ZIF-8 or ZIF-67. The adsorption abilities of ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 positively correlated with the polarity of the solvent. In addition, 97% of CEES (2.5 mg in 1 mL) was rapidly adsorbed by ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 within 1 min at 25 °C in a 9:1 (v/v) water/ethanol solution. ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 were also successfully fabricated on cotton, which was removed more than 95% of contaminants from substrates contaminated with the HD simulant. We believe that this work will encourage the development of ZIFs for chemical warfare defense. [Display omitted] •Two isostructural ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 were used to adsorb sulfur mustard from an aqueous environment.•Porous ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 cotton cloth composites were prepared.•ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 cotton cloth composites are practical systems for removal of sulfur mustard.