Lewis acid-assisted detection of nerve agents in water.
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| Abstract | :  The five-coordinate compound, Salen((t)Bu)Al(Ac), prepared in situ from Salen((t)Bu)AlBr and NH4Ac, forms Lewis acid-base adducts in aqueous solution with the G-type nerve agents, Sarin and Soman, and the VX hydrolysis product, ethylmethylphosphonate (EMPA). The resulting compounds, [Salen((t)Bu)Al(NA)](+)[Ac] (-) (with NA = Sarin, Soman, and EMPA) are sufficiently stable to be identified by ESI-MS. Molecular ion peaks were detected for every compound with little or no fragmentation. The distinctive MS signatures for the [Salen((t)Bu)Al(NA)](+) compounds provide a new technique for identifying nerve agents from aqueous solution. The energetics of the displacement of Ac(-) by the nerve agents to form [Salen((t)Bu)Al(NA)](+)[Ac](-) were determined computationally. | 
| Year of Publication | :  2015 | 
| Journal | :  Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) | 
| Volume | :  51 | 
| Issue | :  45 | 
| Number of Pages | :  9269-71 | 
| Date Published | :  2015 | 
| ISSN Number | :  1359-7345 | 
| URL | :  https://doi.org/10.1039/c5cc00466g | 
| DOI | :  10.1039/c5cc00466g | 
| Short Title | :  Chem Commun (Camb) | 
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