Study on detoxification property of alkaline-modified MoO42--H2O2 decontaminants against PhSMe under subzero environment

The decontaminant activated by MoO42- (MoO42--H2O2) suitable for subzero environment shows strong oxidizing ability and weak nucleophilicity due to its acid. In this paper, in order to improve nucleophilicity and retain oxidation of MoO42--H2O2 as far as possible, NH3 and NaOH were used as alkaline modifiers, and PhSMe was used as a simulant of HD to study the oxidation rate and products of sulfides by alkaline-modified MoO42--H2O2 below zero. Results showed that the reaction rate constants decreased with the increase of pH in both NH3 and NaOH modified MoO42--H2O2 at -20°C, and the relative ratio of sulfone to sulfoxide increased especially at pH>9. The reaction activation energy Ea of PhSMe oxidation in the alkaline-modified MoO42--H2O2 decontaminants was lower than that in the MoO42--H2O2 decontaminant, which indicated that the sensitivity of the oxidation reaction rate to temperature in MoO42--H2O2 was reduced after modification.