PUBLICATION
Synergistic hydroxyl and chlorine radicals in contact-electro-catalysis for sustainable PFAS remediation
- Authors
- Zhang, J., Li, W., Ma, J., Cui, J., He, K., Yang, K., Liu, Q., Zhang, M., Lv, S., Cheng, F., Xing, D.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-260406-3
- Date
- 2026
- Source
- Journal of hazardous materials 508: 141988141988 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Keywords
- Contact-electro-catalysis, Defluorination, Environmental safety, PFAS, Reactive chlorine species
- MeSH Terms
- none
- PubMed
- 41936317 Full text @ J. Hazard. Mater.
Citation
Zhang, J., Li, W., Ma, J., Cui, J., He, K., Yang, K., Liu, Q., Zhang, M., Lv, S., Cheng, F., Xing, D. (2026) Synergistic hydroxyl and chlorine radicals in contact-electro-catalysis for sustainable PFAS remediation. Journal of hazardous materials. 508:141988141988.
Abstract
Contact-electro-catalysis (CEC) provides a promising route for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remediation, yet the mechanistic role of chloride ions (Cl-) in real water matrices remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that Cl- markedly enhances removal of perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid, perfluorononyloxybenzene sulfonate, and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate, achieving 97.04 -99.99% degradation and 96.90 -99.98% defluorination within 120 min at 200 mM Cl-. These rates were 1.43-2.29-fold higher than Cl--free systems. Mechanistic analyses reveal that hydroxyl radicals (•OH) oxidizes Cl- to generate chlorine radicals (Cl•), which selectively attack the carboxylate group of PFAS, enabling thermodynamically favorable decarboxylation followed by mineralization. Unlike conventional electrochemical methods, the Cl•-mediated pathway avoids oxychlorine and chlorinated byproducts. Zebrafish embryo assays further confirmed negligible toxicity of treated solutions. These results establish a sustainable paradigm that achieves high defluorination efficiency and operational safety, offering strong potential for PFAS remediation in saline and industrial waters.
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