Scientists have discovered an "Achilles heel" in two popular classes of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). A simple and affordable method helps to decompose these substances, known as “forever chemicals”, into safe components.

The secret of the stability of PFAS is in the bonds of carbon with fluorine. These are the strongest bonds in organic chemistry, which are extremely difficult to break. But when studying compounds of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids, scientists discovered that at one end of the molecule there is a group that contains charged oxygen atoms.
The researchers used a solvent focused on this group. To do this, they heated the PFAS in dimethyl sulfoxide with sodium hydroxide. Such an impact destroyed the "head group" of the molecule and started the processes of further disintegration of the substance. At the same time, the material isolated fluorine atoms in the form of fluoride, the safest possible form, the authors of the study say