Asymmetric Nanofiber Membranes for Simultaneous Moisture Adsorption and Rapid Catalytic Hydrolysis of Nerve Agent Simulants in Atmospheric Environments

Safe and efficient protection against chemical warfare agents is of strategic importance in human society due to their lethal damage to living organisms. Current protective materials are confronted with defects of incomplete elimination, slow degradation, and potential secondary toxicity during exposure to chemical warfare agents in real environments. Herein, asymmetric nanofiber membranes (ANMs) in side-by-side heterostructure are constructed by a scalable dual-channel electrospinning strategy with a polyvinyl alcohol skeleton, hygroscopic LiCl, amine-rich polyethyleneimine as a non-volatile base, and defective UiO-66-NH₂ nanoparticles as the catalyst for simultaneous moisture adsorption and catalytic hydrolysis of a nerve agent simulant of dimethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (DMNP) in a wide range of relative humidity. The ANMs exhibit fast hydration, effective transport, and high-density storage of water molecules with a high moisture adsorption capacity of 1.74 g g⁻¹ at 90% relative humidity. The side-by-side heterostructure of ANM shortens the mass transport path and accelerates the catalytic hydrolysis of DMNP with an initial half-life of ≈0.56 h and conversion efficiency of more than 95%. The synergistic hygroscopic and catalytic effect of the asymmetric nanofiber membrane promotes the detoxification of DMNP in the atmospheric environment, providing a smart strategy for materials design against chemical warfare agents.