Nucleophilic defluorination of PFAS under mild conditions
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are globally significant water contaminants because of their persistence and associated environmental and health risks. Because PFAS stability and toxicity are closely linked to their fluorinated structures, complete defluorination represents a critical strategy for detoxification. Yet near-complete defluorination of structurally diverse PFAS, particularly short-chain compounds, under mild conditions remains challenging. Here, we report a nucleophile-driven approach for effective PFAS defluorination in DMSO at relatively mild temperatures around 100 °C, yielding free fluoride ions. Five nucleophiles, methanethiolate, ethanethiolate, methoxide, ethoxide, and amide, were evaluated. Under optimized conditions, complete defluorination, as verified by nearly quantitative fluoride recovery, was achieved for a broad range of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids and fluoropolymers, including short- and ultrashort-chain compounds such as PFPrA and TFA, which are typically resistant to other defluorination methods. Partial degradation of PFOS was also achieved under the same conditions. This approach provides an effective route to PFAS defluorination under comparatively mild reaction conditions.
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BibTeX
@article{basu2026nucleophilic,
title = {{Nucleophilic defluorination of PFAS under mild conditions}},
author = {Pallabita Basu and Saravanakumar Manickam and Rana Dalapati and Jiangfan Shi and Matthew Hunter and Xiaomei Yang and Ling Zang},
journal = {Communications Chemistry},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s42004-026-02254-6},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s42004-026-02254-6},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Nucleophilic defluorination of PFAS under mild conditions
AU - Pallabita Basu
AU - Saravanakumar Manickam
AU - Rana Dalapati
AU - Jiangfan Shi
AU - Matthew Hunter
AU - Xiaomei Yang
AU - Ling Zang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Communications Chemistry
DO - 10.1038/s42004-026-02254-6
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s42004-026-02254-6
AB - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are globally significant water contaminants because of their persistence and associated environmental and health risks. Because PFAS stability and toxicity are closely linked to their fluorinated structures, complete defluorination represents a critical strategy for detoxification. Yet near-complete defluorination of structurally diverse PFAS, particularly short-chain compounds, under mild conditions remains challenging. Here, we report a nucleophile-driven approach for effective PFAS defluorination in DMSO at relatively mild temperatures around 100 °C, yielding free fluoride ions. Five nucleophiles, methanethiolate, ethanethiolate, methoxide, ethoxide, and amide, were evaluated. Under optimized conditions, complete defluorination, as verified by nearly quantitative fluoride recovery, was achieved for a broad range of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids and fluoropolymers, including short- and ultrashort-chain compounds such as PFPrA and TFA, which are typically resistant to other defluorination methods. Partial degradation of PFOS was also achieved under the same conditions. This approach provides an effective route to PFAS defluorination under comparatively mild reaction conditions.
SN - 2399-3669
ER -