Computational Screening of Metal–Organic Framework-Supported Single-Atom Transition-Metal Catalysts for the Gas-Phase Hydrolysis of Nerve Agents

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that the gas-phase hydrolysis of nerve agents by Zr-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) may be limited by product inhibition resulting from strong bidentate binding of the hydrolysis products to the Zr6-nodes. A potential method to avoid this problem is to deposit single-atom catalysts on the nodes so that the products bind in a more favorable monodentate mode. Such catalytic active sites can be characterized with atomic precision, enabling detailed computational mechanistic studies. Thus, we used density functional theory to perform a comprehensive screening of single-atom transition-metal catalysts, in varying oxidation states, deposited on NU-1000 nodes for the gas-phase hydrolysis of the nerve agent sarin. By calculating the complete reaction pathways for M–NU-1000 systems, we discovered that the highest reaction barrier varies between catalysts, highlighting the need to consider more than a single reaction step when screening a large number of diverse materials. The si...