A study has been made of the photodegradation of an analog, phenylmeth
ylsulphonyl fluoride (PMSF), of a toxic chemical warfare agent. The ag
ent was solubilized in a water-in-oil surfactactant stabilized microem
ulsion system comprising sodium dodecyl sulphate, pentanol and water.
Loss of the parent PMSF molecule upon exposure of the system to UV irr
adiation was monitored by F-19 NMR spectroscopy. Consideration of the
changes in the chemical shifts, splittings in conjunction with GC/Mass
spectroscopy data strongly suggest the degradation leads to partial f
luorination of pentanol. Analysis of peak areas also indicates the for
mation of volatile degradation products such as HF. The addition of Ti
O2 or hydroquinone to the system did not appreciably change the overal
l amounts of degradation. The results are interpreted in terms of the
possible radical based reaction pathways and show that such a microemu
lsion medium to have significant potential as a vehicle for effecting
such a degradation process.