Patent ID: 8618346

Claim:
A method for the destruction of small to large quantities of one of a chemical warfare agent and a mixture of chemical warfare agents at ambient conditions without producing any toxic by-products, the method using a superoxide ion electrochemically generated by the reduction of oxygen in ionic liquids or chemically by dissolving Group 1 (alkali metals) or Group 2 (alkaline earth metals) superoxides, in one of an ionic liquid and a mixture of ionic liquids to react with the one of a chemical warfare agent and a mixture of chemical warfare agents, the ionic liquid and the mixture of ionic liquids each composed of a cation and an anion, the cation including one of the following: imidazolium, with di or tri substitution; pyrrolidinium, with di or tri substitution; pyridinium, with di or tri substitution; phosphonium; sulfonium; or ammonium; and the anion including one of the following: phosphates or substituted phosphates; sulfates or substituted sulfates; acetates or substituted sulfates, sulfonates or substituted sulfonates, halide [Cl âˆ’ , Br âˆ’ , I âˆ’ ], nitrate [NO 3 âˆ’ ], acetate [CH 3 CO 2 âˆ’ ], trifluoroacetate [CF 3 CO 2 âˆ’ ], or triflate [CF 3 SO 3 âˆ’ ].