Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have recently received great public attention due to serious health risks imposed on humans, which are exacerbated by their resistance to degradation in the natural environment. This study aimed at advancing degradation techniques available for PFOA and PFOS removal via electrochemical oxidation (EO) by comparing electrodes embedded with various nanoparticles such as nickel (Ni), molybdenum disulfide (MoS<sub>2</sub>), sliver (Ag), and gold (Au). Substrates included ceramic nanofiber membrane (CNM), nanocarbon (NC) coated, or carbon cloth (CC) electrodes. The newly fabricated electrodes were applied for EO of PFOA and PFOS for 120 mins at 10 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>. The Ni-CNM showed the highest degradation rates with 95% PFOA and 96% PFOS removal due to the high redox potential for hydroxyl radical generation. This study also revealed maximum removal efficiency and energy consumption, which showed Ni nanoparticles as a promising cost-effective catalyst for PFOA and PFOS removal.

Comparison of different nanoparticle-embedded electrodes for electrochemical oxidation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.