Kinetics of hydrolysis of organophosphate soman by cationic surfactant Resamin AE

Summary This experiment tested the reactivity of the cationic surfactant Resamin AE [N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-(2-hydroxy-4-oxa(C14divide22-alkyl))-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride] with organophosphonate soman. It was confirmed that soman is incorporated in the micelle of Resamin AE and that the hydroxyl group or Resamin AE supports the hydrolysis of this organophosphonate. A further increase in reactivity was achieved by the addition of hydrogen peroxide into the reaction mixture. In contrast, if the concentration of neutral salts was increased, a decrease in the velocity of the hydrolysis was obtained. The hydrolytic efficacy of Resamin AE was also compared with that of hexadecyldimethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)-ammonium bromide. Resamin AE appeared to be a more efficacious hydrolytic agent than other similar compounds due to its advantageous chemical structure.