{
  "abstract": "Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) persist in aquatic environments due to their ultrastable C–F bonds and poor susceptibility to conventional treatment. Here, we report an H2-based catalytic-film membrane that enables PFAS destruction in ambient conditions by generating highly reactive surface (Hads*) and subsurface hydrogen (Hsub*), the latter stored as β-phase palladium hydride (β-PdHx). Solid-state analyses evidenced β-PdHx formation and related lattice expansion with elevated H2 chemical potential, revealing a structural mechanism that links hydrogen storage to catalytic defluorination. Mechanistically, the two hydrogen species play complementary roles: Hads*-rich Pd0 surface enabled PFAS capture through parallel adsorption to maximize interfacial contact with active H, whereas sustained Hsub* supplied the energetic driving force for stepwise hydrodefluorination consistent with sequential C–F scission. As a result, across six PFAS of regulatory concern—PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS, and GenX—the catalytic membrane converted all contaminants toward fully defluorinated products. Long-chain PFAS were removed and defluorinated more rapidly than short-chain analogs, while GenX showed greater recalcitrance due to its ether linkage, weaker adsorption, and higher average C–F bond dissociation energy; nonetheless, GenX still exhibited removal and defluorination, with the production of 2-propoxypropanoic acid. The system also enabled continuous coremoval of all six PFAS in ambient conditions, with up to 96% removal and 83% defluorination over 58 d. These findings provide a mechanistic framework for how active hydrogen is generated, stored, and deployed in catalytic membranes, and identify engineered H2-catalytic membranes as a promising low-energy technology for destructive PFAS treatment.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resource Recycling, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China",
    "Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-5701",
    "Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005-1892",
    "Institute for the Environment and Health, Nanjing University, Suzhou 215163, China",
    "State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China",
    "Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Min Long",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5328-7787"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ai-Shi Wang",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-6742-4241"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Welman C. Elias"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Chen Zhou",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8104-2848"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Thomas P. Senftle",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5889-5009"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Michael S. Wong",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3652-3378"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Jie Cheng",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-6147-5956"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Bruce E. Rittmann",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3678-149X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e3q8e72ca3cn6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2613985123",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13715810/",
  "id": "e3q8e72ca3cn6",
  "issns": [
    "0027-8424",
    "1091-6490"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2613985123",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "417"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Environmental Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Physical Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2304|Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222923054",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2613985123",
  "pmcid": "PMC13715810",
  "pmid": "42896056",
  "published": "2026-10-19",
  "publisher": "National Academy of Sciences",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e3q8e72ca3cn6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:23:00Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13715810",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2613985123"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "heading:Environmental Sciences",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Catalytic reactive-hydrogen membranes for rapid capture and hydrodefluorination of six PFAS of regulatory concern",
  "title_text": "Catalytic reactive-hydrogen membranes for rapid capture and hydrodefluorination of six PFAS of regulatory concern",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:23:00Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e3q8e72ca3cn6",
  "venue": "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
  "versions": []
}