Speaker
Adrienne Smiley
Speaker's Institution
Colorado State University
Date
2021-11-05
Time
4:00 pm
Location
Chemistry A101
Mixer Time
3:45 pm
Mixer Time
Chemistry B101E
Calendar (ICS) Event
Additional Information

Literature Seminar:

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have proven themselves to be a formidable contaminant due to their high persistence and their bioaccumulation properties, allowing them to be found both in humans and the environment. With over 4,000 variations of PFAS in existence for numerous industrial applications, it is exceedingly unlikely that these chemicals can simply be cut out of production, thus, some end-of-life value must be given to stop further manufacturing.  Before this loop can be closed, all of its components must be understood. It has been recently discovered that various polar aprotic solvents can decompose a second generation PFAS, hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA). Using Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry, this degradation process can be analyzed and hopefully expanded to other variations. Once the mechanism is better understood, solid state synthesis can be utilized to break down the fluorinated chains into fluoride salts that can be incorporated back into the synthesis process.