Insights into perfluorooctane sulfonate photodegradation in a catalyst-free aqueous solution.

ABSTRACT: Photodegradation in the absence of externally added chemicals could be an attractive solution for the removal of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in aqueous environment, but the low decomposition rate presents a severe challenge and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that PFOS could be effectively degraded in a catalyst-free aqueous solution via a reduction route. Under appropriate pH and temperature conditions, a rapid PFOS photodegradation, with a pseudo-first-order decomposition rate constant of 0.91 h(-1), was achieved. In addition, hydrated electrons were considered to be the major photo-generated reductive species responsible for PFOS photodegradation in this system. Its production and reduction ability could be significantly affected by the environ

SUBMITTER: Lyu XJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4399502 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature