Standalone nanocarbon photocatalyst for a complete and fast photodegradation of PFOA to fluorine ions under solar-type illumination
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), pose significant risks to health and the environment due to their chemical resistance. Here, we compare the photocatalytic performance of standalone carbon photocatalysts based on diamond nanomaterials. We demonstrate the complete mineralization of PFOA under solar-type illumination using highly crystalline hydrogenated milled nanodiamonds (H-MND). Mechanism investigations tend to reveal two distinct degradation pathways: chain-shortening and defluorination reaction through F/OH substitution which appears specific to H-MND and absent in other types of nanodiamonds. This selectivity is attributed to the unique negative electron affinity of H-MND and their enhanced surface hydrophobicity. Notably, PFOA photodegradation in presence of H-MND arises efficiently under 300–400 nm illumination, deep UV (250-300 nm) only accelerating the process. Under comparable conditions, H-MND outperforms conventional standalone photocatalysts, even in aerobic environments and under solar-type irradiation. These findings highlight the potential of H-MND to serve as an effective solution for PFAS remediation, whether used as a simple and reusable standalone photocatalyst or integrated into more advanced hybrid systems.
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BibTeX
@article{jimenez2026standalone,
title = {{Standalone nanocarbon photocatalyst for a complete and fast photodegradation of PFOA to fluorine ions under solar-type illumination}},
author = {Rafaël Jimenez and Caroline Genre and Charlène Boillereau and Sophie Peulon and Jean-Charles Arnault and Hugues Girard},
journal = {Carbon},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121905},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05733715v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Standalone nanocarbon photocatalyst for a complete and fast photodegradation of PFOA to fluorine ions under solar-type illumination
AU - Rafaël Jimenez
AU - Caroline Genre
AU - Charlène Boillereau
AU - Sophie Peulon
AU - Jean-Charles Arnault
AU - Hugues Girard
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/21
JO - Carbon
DO - 10.1016/j.carbon.2026.121905
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05733715v1
AB - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), pose significant risks to health and the environment due to their chemical resistance. Here, we compare the photocatalytic performance of standalone carbon photocatalysts based on diamond nanomaterials. We demonstrate the complete mineralization of PFOA under solar-type illumination using highly crystalline hydrogenated milled nanodiamonds (H-MND). Mechanism investigations tend to reveal two distinct degradation pathways: chain-shortening and defluorination reaction through F/OH substitution which appears specific to H-MND and absent in other types of nanodiamonds. This selectivity is attributed to the unique negative electron affinity of H-MND and their enhanced surface hydrophobicity. Notably, PFOA photodegradation in presence of H-MND arises efficiently under 300–400 nm illumination, deep UV (250-300 nm) only accelerating the process. Under comparable conditions, H-MND outperforms conventional standalone photocatalysts, even in aerobic environments and under solar-type irradiation. These findings highlight the potential of H-MND to serve as an effective solution for PFAS remediation, whether used as a simple and reusable standalone photocatalyst or integrated into more advanced hybrid systems.
SN - 0008-6223
ER -