Development of alginate–hydroxyethyl cellulose–gum arabic ternary peelable hydrogels for sulfur mustard decontamination

This study describes the development of a ternary polysaccharide hydrogel system based on sodium alginate (ALG), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), and gum arabic (GA), designed to control viscosity, film formation, and peelability for rapid surface decontamination. We hypothesize that cooperative interactions within this carbohydrate network enable independent regulation of rheological behavior and film cohesion, while simultaneously supporting the uniform dispersion and effective wetting of functional fillers such as metal–organic frameworks. The liquid precursor formulation is applied directly onto contaminated surfaces, allowing sulfur mustard to diffuse into the hydrated polymer matrix, followed by Ca 2+ -induced ionic crosslinking to form a cohesive, peelable hydrogel film that immobilizes the agent and its degradation products. Compared with single- and binary-polysaccharide systems, the ternary ALG-HEC–GA formulation exhibits superior viscosity control, enhanced film integrity, and improved mechanical robustness, enabling stable filler loadings up to 1.5 wt.%. Comprehensive structural, rheological, and mechanical characterization, together with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis, shows that incorporation of MOF-1 (Basolite Z1200; ZIF-8) at 1.0 and 1.5 wt.% increases HD decontamination efficiency after 10 min to 80.1% and 82.9%, respectively - approximately 20% higher than the undoped ternary polysaccharide hydrogel. These results highlight ternary polysaccharide-based peelable hydrogels as effective, biocompatible platforms for CWA decontamination.