An international team led by the University of Bath has created a low-cost, sunlight-driven catalyst that breaks down PFAS “forever chemicals” and could eventually help clean water and track pollution in real time.
A new sunlight-powered technology could one day help tackle the growing problem of “forever chemicals” that linger in water, soil and the human body.
An international team led by the University of Bath has developed a simple, carbon-based catalyst that uses light to break down polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These man-made chemicals are prized for their water- and stain-resistant properties, but they are also extremely hard to destroy and have been found across the environment and in people worldwide.
PFAS are used in everything from nonstick pans and waterproof jackets to food packaging and cosmetics. Because their chemical bonds are so strong, they do not break down naturally and can build up in drinking water, wildlife and human tissue. Some studies have linked certain PFAS to health risks, including a higher chance of some cancers, but the full long-term impact is still unclear.
First author Fernanda C. O. L. Martins, who worked on the project during a six-month placement at Bath as part of her doctoral studies at the University of São Paulo, noted that the everyday reach of these chemicals makes the problem especially urgent.
“PFAS are used in many different products, from waterproof clothing to lipstick, but they accumulate in the body and in the environment over time, with toxic effects,” she said in a news release.
The new study, published in the journal RSC Advances, describes a prototype photocatalyst made from graphitic carbon nitride, a low-cost, carbon-based material, combined with a rigid microporous polymer known as PIM-1.
The two components play different roles. The PIM-1 polymer has tiny pores that help capture and hold PFAS molecules close to the catalyst’s surface. The carbon nitride then uses energy from light to drive chemical reactions that break the stubborn carbon–fluorine bonds in PFAS. In the process, the pollutants are converted into carbon dioxide and fluoride, a chemical that is also found in some toothpastes.
According to Martins, pairing the catalyst with PIM-1 makes the breakdown process more efficient, especially at neutral pH levels similar to those found in natural waters. That is important because many existing PFAS treatment methods work best only under harsh conditions, such as very high temperatures or extreme acidity, which are expensive and difficult to use outside specialized facilities.
The work brings together researchers from the University of Bath, the University of São Paulo in Brazil, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and Swansea University in Wales. It is part of a broader push to find practical ways to both detect and destroy PFAS as regulations tighten and public concern grows.
Beyond cleanup, the same chemistry could also underpin a new kind of sensor. As PFAS are broken down, they release fluoride ions. Measuring that fluoride signal could reveal how much PFAS was present in the first place.
This opens the door to portable devices that could be used to monitor contamination in real time, rather than relying solely on samples shipped to specialized laboratories.
“Currently it’s very difficult to detect PFAS, requiring expensive equipment in a specialist lab,” added Frank Marken, a professor in the University of Bath’s Department of Chemistry and Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change, who led the study. “We hope that our technology could in the future be used in a simple portable sensor that can be used outside the lab, for example to detect where there are higher levels of PFAS in the environment.”
Today, detecting PFAS typically requires expensive instruments and trained specialists, which limits how often and where testing can be done. A low-cost, handheld sensor could help communities, regulators and industry quickly identify hotspots in rivers, groundwater, farmland or near manufacturing sites.
The current device is still a lab-scale prototype, and the researchers emphasize that more work is needed before it can be deployed in the field. They are now seeking industrial partners to help scale up production, improve performance and integrate the catalyst into real-world treatment systems or sensing platforms.
If those efforts succeed, the technology could become part of a toolkit for dealing with PFAS pollution: helping to find contamination more easily, and using abundant sunlight to help break these “forever chemicals” down into safer components.
Source: University of Bath