Complete Reductive Defluorination of PFAS in Water Under Ambient Conditions via Plasmon-Enhanced Catalysis

Complete Reductive Defluorination of PFAS in Water Under Ambient Conditions via Plasmon-Enhanced Catalysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Complete Reductive Defluorination of PFAS in Water Under Ambient Conditions via Plasmon-Enhanced Catalysis John Fortner, Ozce Durak, Seung Soo S. Lee, Lydia Watt, Susanna Maisto, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8309590/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Photo-driven, plasmon-enhanced catalysis enables high-efficiency PFAS degradation in water under ambient conditions. UV-induced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) catalyzes complete reductive defluorination of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), two legacy contaminants. Stable, quantum-sized palladium and platinum nanocatalysts supported on aminated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN-NH2-Pd and MSN-NH2-Pt) rapidly transform PFOA and PFOS, with, or near, 100% stoichiometric defluorination under low-intensity UVC or UVA irradiation at room temperature. Time-resolved 19F NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry, among other analyses, reveal a stepwise reductive hydrodefluorination pathway that proceeds without the formation of short-chain products, a major process advantage. Mechanistic studies identify hydrated electrons and in situ hydrogen generation as key reactive species, confirmed by scavenger and control experiments. Taken together, the approach harnesses synergistic interfacial PFAS sorption, plasmon-induced hydrogen evolution, and hydrated electron formation to enable a low-energy, scalable platform for sustainable PFAS treatment via complete defluorination. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental chemistry/Pollution remediation Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental chemistry Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Environmental impact PFAS destruction reductive defluorination water treatment PFOA PFOS plasmonic photocatalysis LSPR Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files PlasmondrivenReductiveDefluorinationofPFASSupportingInformationSINatureWater.pdf Supplemental Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8309590","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":561247420,"identity":"d2e6656d-fa95-4dbb-a9f8-8fae9f3ff0e6","order_by":0,"name":"John Fortner","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA70lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYeIGkD5X1gYJAB0RKEtaQxMIAoxhkQGr8WiBqoFmYeYrQwt/cee8CQYJNvL9187LNtmx0PPwPzwds8+BzWcy7dgCEhzbJH5ljy7Ny2ZB7JBrZka7xaZuSYSTD+OGzAI5FjzJzbxsxjcIDHTJqgFoYEkJb8z8yWbfU89gf4vxGrJYeZmbHtMI8BAw8bfi09Z8wkEhLSDHhupBkDPXacR+Iwm7HlHDxaDNt7zCQ+JNgYsM9Ifszwo6xajr+9+eGNN/i0NACJBLidbECCGY9yEJBH5f4hoHwUjIJRMApGJAAAFiI+Rgx/X3oAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Yale University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"John","middleName":"","lastName":"Fortner","suffix":""},{"id":561247421,"identity":"ef360750-714d-4f14-b6be-6838c9778313","order_by":1,"name":"Ozce Durak","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yale University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ozce","middleName":"","lastName":"Durak","suffix":""},{"id":561247422,"identity":"b0386ea6-d654-4346-8cda-c384bd0679f9","order_by":2,"name":"Seung Soo S. 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UV-induced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) catalyzes complete reductive defluorination of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), two legacy contaminants. Stable, quantum-sized palladium and platinum nanocatalysts supported on aminated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN-NH2-Pd and MSN-NH2-Pt) rapidly transform PFOA and PFOS, with, or near, 100% stoichiometric defluorination under low-intensity UVC or UVA irradiation at room temperature. Time-resolved 19F NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry, among other analyses, reveal a stepwise reductive hydrodefluorination pathway that proceeds without the formation of short-chain products, a major process advantage. Mechanistic studies identify hydrated electrons and in situ hydrogen generation as key reactive species, confirmed by scavenger and control experiments. 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