Catalyzed decomposition of nerve gases and potentiometric detection of the byproducts Original Research Article

Several systems are presented for detection of nerve gases, Sarin and Soman, based on catalyzed decomposition of nerve gases by copper ion–ligand chelates and potentiometric detection of the byproduct, fluoride ion. Diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) was used as the nerve gas mimic. It was found that 1:1 Cu(II)–DMBP (4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridyl) and 1:2 Cu(II)–TMEDA (N,N,N′N′-tetramethylethylenediamine) chelates were the most effective catalysts for accelerating the decomposition of DFP. With a response time of about 5 min and a potential drop of 30–50 mV, the detection limit for DFP is 2×10−6 M. This method is sensitive, selective, and reproducible.