Phosphate-enabled mechanochemical PFAS destruction for fluoride reuse

Abstract Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent, bioaccumulative and anthropogenic pollutants that have attracted the attention of the public and private sectors because of their adverse impact on human health 1 . Although various technologies have been deployed to degrade PFASs with a focus on non-polymeric functionalized compounds (perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) 2–4 , a general PFAS destruction method coupled with fluorine recovery for upcycling is highly desirable. Here we disclose a protocol that converts multiple classes of PFAS, including the fluoroplastics polytetrafluoroethylene and polyvinylidene fluoride, into high-value fluorochemicals. To…