Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are artificial chemical compounds that are highly persistent and are frequently used in various domestic and industrial applications. PFAS are distributed all over in the environment due to their extraordinary stability. Different reports of PFAS have shown several health issues in human beings. Several detection techniques like high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and colorimetry are available for the investigation and characterisation of PFAS. However, these techniques are often sophisticated, lab-based, and costly. Electrochemistry at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) attracts much attention from many researchers due to its varied applications. In this electrochemical measurement set-up, species are detected on the basis of their ion transfer between aqueous and organic electrolyte solutions. Accordingly, electrochemical measurements using the ITIES may be useful for the detection of ionised PFAS present in various environmental samples.<br/>Picomolar concentration of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in aqueous solutions was detected by voltammetry at the ITIES, which is lower than the level for PFOS in drinking water set by the USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Health, Australia. In this presentation, voltammetric techniques (like cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry) at the ITIES were applied for the electrochemical study of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and the capability to detect the lower concentration of PFOA using the ITIES will be presented and discussed.

Electrochemical study of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances using a liquid-liquid interface

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

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