Substituting hot water for dangerous acids - scientists discover that water heated above the boiling point elicits the same organic chemical reactions caused by strong acids or bases - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), June, 1997

Just as aspirin is a wonder drug, hot water may be a wonder liquid. In research continuing over several years, scientists have found that "a lot of organic chemical reactions that are normally carried out with strong acids or bases can be carried out with just water heated above its boiling point," explains Michael Siskin, senior research associate, Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Linden, N.J. "In this age, you want to be as environmentally friendly as you can, and water is pretty safe."

Siskin and Alan Katritzky of the University of Florida, Gainesville, are trying to get the word out about the power of water to other scientists so they can use it in their own research. "Most chemists aren't aware of this and wouldn't have expected it," Siskin maintains. The technology, called aquathermolysis, has implications in a wide range of fields. One example is plastics. "A lot of the plastics we use every day can be easily converted back into their starting materials (recycled) by reacting with water," Siskin notes.

In the field of chemical synthesis, production processes often generate undesirable by-products. With the help of aquathermolysis, some by-products can be converted back into the reactions' starting materials and/or the desired product -- in other words, turning waste back into useful materials.

University of Florida scientists also have been looking at arsenic organic compounds and phosphorous organic compounds -- which are models for chemical warfare agents -- and mixing them with water under pressure in a reactor. "Based on results with these chemicals, we expect the water will cleave bonds in the real agents and turn them into chemicals that are innocuous." Siskin says it should not be possible to reassemble those chemicals back into chemical warfare agents.

In aquathermolysis, water is heated to 200-450[degrees]C in a container under pressure. The water under those conditions can act as a base or acid. "When you go to higher temperatures. the properties of water also become more like organic solvents," Siskin indicates. That means "organic materials become soluble in the water and can react."