Bifunctional Metal–Organic Gel for Deep Detoxification\nof Organophosphorus Nerve Agents through a Cascade Degradation Process

Organophosphorus\n(OPs) nerve agents, as a class of chemical warfare\nagents and widely used pesticides, are highly toxic synthetic chemicals\nthat pose severe threats to human health and the environment. However,\nthe current method of detoxifying OPs through hydrolysis cannot completely\nreduce their harmfulness, as the hydrolysis products of OPs are often\nhighly toxic. Therefore, developing efficient deep detoxification\ncatalysts is of great significance for the emergency response to OPs\nnerve agent leakage, deep purification of polluted environments, and\ningenious construction of protective equipment. Herein, a bimetallic\nmetal–organic gel (namely, Zr/Cu-TATAB) was designed and prepared\nthrough simple mixing of a reaction mixture of the Zr<sup>4+</sup>/Cu<sup>2+</sup> salt and 2,4,6-tris[(<i>p</i>-carboxyphenyl)amino]-1,3,5-triazine\n(H<sub>3</sub>TATAB) ligand at room temperature. The as-prepared Zr/Cu-TATAB\nwith bimetallic active centers showed a deep detoxification effect\ntoward methyl paraoxon (DMNP) via cascade degradation, in which the\nZr(IV) node could efficiently degrade DMNP to <i>p</i>-nitrophenol\n(<i>p</i>-NP), while the Cu(II) node could further reduce\nthe secondary product <i>p</i>-NP to the nontoxic and economically\nbeneficial <i>p</i>-aminophenol (<i>p</i>-AP).\nThis work demonstrated the great potential of the Zr/Cu-TATAB bifunctional\ncascade degradation system for deep detoxification of OPs nerve agents\nand provided new insights for the rational design of high-efficiency\nbifunctional catalysts in a simple way.