SBIR-STTR Award

The objective of this proposed program is to provide perfluorinated candidate fluid materials as persistent chemical warfare uptake simulants. Based on previous experience with chloropentafluorobenzene (CPFB), which is a leading candidate for non-persistent uptake simulants, it is suggested that higher molecular weight derivatives of CPFB should provide candidate fluids while still retaining the required properties, e.g., good detectability by electron capture detection using gas chromatographic analysis, biological inertness, and an adjustable (by molecular design) vapor pressure. These materials should also possess properties of enhancing absorption by inhalation or through the skin surface. Two classes of compounds are suggested. The first class consists of properly substituted chloropentafluorobenzene compounds, RC(6)F(4)C1. The substituent R must be properly chosen so as to decrease the vapor pressure sufficiently to provide a boiling point range of 200 deg C to 300 deg C and consist of the following: C1 (O and M), Br (O and M), C(6)F(5)0, C1C(6)F(4), C(n)F2(n)Cl, C(n)F(2n+1), and CF(2)=CFC1. The second class of compounds will be the mono or polychlorofluoroalkanes.

The objective of this proposed program is to provide chlorofluoro substituted candidate materials as persistent chemical warfare uptake simulants. Based on previous experience with chloropentafluorobenzene (CPFB), which is a leading candidate for nonpersistent uptake simulants, as well as polychlorofluorobenzene compounds prepared under phase i of this program, sufficient technical progress has been made to warrant further investigations of polychlorofluoroaromatic and polychlorofluoroaliphatic compounds for the development of candidate simulant agents. Based on the preliminary data obtained, the polychloroperfluoro compounds should possess excellent detectability by electron capture detection using gas chromatographic analysis, biological inertness and desirable vapor pressure. The classes of compounds to be investigated under phase II are the following: 1) chloro and bromo substituted perfluoroalkylether compounds; 2) polychlorinated perfluoroaryl compounds; 3) perfluoralkylether substituted perfluoroaryl compounds; 4) perfluoroalkyl and perfluoroaryl nitrogen compounds. The candidate materials will be synthesized in 10-20 gram quantities and the more promising ones will be prepared in up to 100 gram quantities. Another objective of this program is to optimize the scale up synthesis processes to be amenable for pilot plant operations by industrial concerns under phase III.