ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a broad overview of the chemistries of selected substances that have been considered as chemical warfare agents at one time or another. It focuses on reactions that are representative of the compounds or are of special value. The types of weapons employed ranged from disabling chemicals, such as tear agents, to lethal agents, such as phosgene, chlorine, and sulfur mustard. The photolytic cleavage of phosgene is believed to begin with a homolysis to form an acid chloride, and Cl. In turn, the acid chloride rapidly decomposes to form carbon monoxide and a second chlorine atom. Chloropicrin has been shown to react with iron-bearing clay minerals to produce both chloronitromethane and dichloronitromethane. The ability of cyanide to form complexes with various metals explains its use in extracting gold from rocks in a process referred to as heap leaching. Hydrogen cyanide adds chlorine to form cyanogen chloride, which in turn, trimerizes to cyanuric chloride.
