Zinc oxide nanocubes were surveyed for their destructive turn-over to decontaminate 2-chloro ethyl phenyl sulfide, a sulfur mustard simulant. Prior to the reaction, nanocubes were prepared through sol-gel method using monoethanolamine, diethylene glycol, and anhydrous citric acid as the stabilizing, cross linking/structure directing agents, respectively. The formation of nanoscale ZnO, the cubic morphology, crystalline structure, and chemical-adsorptive characteristics were certified by FESEM-EDS, TEM-SAED, XRD, FTIR, BET-BJH, H-2-TPR, and ESR techniques. Adsorption and destruction reactions were tracked by GC-FID analysis in which the effects of polarity of the media, reaction time, and temperature on the destructive capability of the surface of nanocubes were investigated and discussed. Results demonstrated that maximum neutralization occurred in n-heptane solvent after 1/2 h at 55 degrees C. Kinetic study construed that the neutralization reaction followed the pseudo-second order model with a squared correlation coefficient and rate constant of 0.9904 and 0.00004 g mg(-1) s(-1), respectively. Furthermore, GC-MS measurement confirmed the formation of 2-hydroxy ethyl phenyl sulfide (2-HEPS) and phenyl vinyl sulfide (PVS) as neutralization products that together with Bronsted and Lewis acid/base approaches exemplify the role of hydrolysis and elimination mechanisms on the surface of zinc oxide nanocubes. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.