New method to break down forever chemicals uses nanoparticles and ultrasound
What do firefighting foam, non-stick cookware, water-repellent textiles and pesticides all have in common? They all contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS—human-made chemicals that don't break down naturally. It's no wonder, then, that PFAS are now contaminating soil and water and can also be detected in the bodies of humans and animals. The dangers are well known: these forever chemicals can damage the liver, trigger hormonal disorders and cause cancer, to mention just a few of their effects.
Researchers in the group under Salvador Pané i Vidal, Professor at ETH Zurich's Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, have developed a new method to break down a subgroup of PFAS called perfluorooctane sulfonates, or PFOS. Due to their toxicity, PFOS are now severely restricted or even banned. The study is published in the journal Small Science.
"The main problem is that the molecules consist of long carbon chains surrounded by fluorine atoms. This carbon-fluorine bond is so strong that you need a lot of energy to break it," says Andrea Veciana, a doctoral student of Pané i Vidal's.
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Nontoxic ceramic could replace lead-based electronic components
The ceramic produced in Prof. Igor Lubomirsky's lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science seemed too good to be true. It belongs to a class of materials that are the backbone of many essential technologies but that unfortunately also create an environmental problem because they usually contain lead, which is highly toxic.
The surprising thing about the Weizmann ceramic was that it could perform just as well as other materials in this category while being entirely nontoxic. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.
The new material falls into a class of substances that become deformed when exposed to an electric field, undergoing strains and stresses that are widely exploited in a slew of devices to produce tiny, precise movements.
In cell phones, for example, the slight deformation induced by voltage can set off the charging process or move the lens to create autofocus. In industrial inkjet printers, a plate buckles when voltage is applied, ejecting a controlled amount of ink.
The ceramic produced in Prof. Igor Lubomirsky's lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science seemed too good to be true. It belongs to a class of materials that are the backbone of many essential technologies but that unfortunately also create an environmental problem because they usually contain lead, which is highly toxic.
The surprising thing about the Weizmann ceramic was that it could perform just as well as other materials in this category while being entirely nontoxic. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.