Plasma jet decontamination of sulfur mustard and its analogues in water by oxidation effect

Atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ), as an emerging clean and efficient technology, has been found a great potential for chemical warfare agents (CWAs) decontamination. In this study, we first proposed APPJ for the degradation of sulfur mustard (HD) and its surrogate 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2-CEES) in water. Under optimal conditions, the degradation efficiency of 2-CEES and HD reached 100 % after 5 min or 6 min plasma treatment. The degradation products of 2-CEES and HD were mainly non-toxic alcohols or low toxic sulfones, which can be degraded and converted into some small molecules (HCl, SO2, or CO2) under further plasma treatment. We then identified two dominant short-lived reactive species (.OH and 1O2) and long-lived reactive molecule (H2O2) and distinguished the effect of these three active particles during the degradation process of 2CEES in water. This work provides detailed evidence of a novel decontamination strategy for HD and 2-CEES.

Automated summary

As an emerging clean and efficient technology, atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) shows great potential for decontamination of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). This study demonstrates the use of APPJ for the degradation of sulfur mustard (HD) and its surrogate 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2-CEES) in water, achieving a degradation efficiency of 100% after 5 or 6 minutes of plasma treatment. The degradation products were found to be non-toxic alcohols or low toxic sulfones, which can be further degraded into small molecules (HCl, SO2, or CO2) through additional plasma treatment. The identification of reactive species (OH, 1O2, and H2O2) provides insight into the degradation process of 2-CEES in water.