Patent ID: 8084662

Claim:
A method of decontaminating surfaces exposed to chemical warfare agent, which method comprises forming an aqueous solution of MnCl 2 ; raising the pH of the MnCl 2 solution, thereby precipitating Mn(II) mineral; reacting the Mn(II) mineral so formed with phenylenediamine to thereby form a suspension of Mn(VII) mineral; drying the suspension of Mn(VII) mineral to produce Mn(VII) mineral product; contacting said surfaces with a sufficient amount of a reactive sorbent comprising Mn(VII) mineral which attacks the agent at Lewis Acid sites; and wherein the Mn(VII) mineral product so formed is further characterized as having a characteristic violet color and as being further characterized as being a Lewis Acid in reacting with and decontaminating chemical warfare agents, even in non-polar solvents, by attacking lone pairs of electrons donated by the chemical warfare agents being decontaminated, unlike KMnO 4 which acts upon organic compounds in polar solvents, which is not a Lewis Acid, and which does not act by removing lone pairs of electrons donated by chemical warfare agents; and wherein the Mn(VII) mineral product so formed is further characterized by the fact that it is not explosive at temperatures above about 55° C., as is the case with dimanganese heptoxide, but rather is stable at extremely high temperatures, such temperatures exceeding 800° C.