Mechanochemical production of TAPB TFB COF, accompanied by in situ analysis at the DESY synchrotron, followed by investigation of its performance in the adsorption of PFAS.
Source: BAM
Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic, fluorinated compounds used in numerous everyday products, such as non stick cookware and water repellent textiles. Because of their exceptional stability and resistance to natural degradation, they are often referred to as “forever chemicals.” Over the course of decades, they have accumulated in the environment and have now contaminated drinking water as well. This is particularly concerning, as PFAS have been linked to serious health risks, including certain types of cancer. At the same time, conventional water treatment technologies are largely unable to remove PFAS effectively, making the development of new, high performance adsorption materials urgently necessary.
The study presented here describes the synthesis of a crystalline, two dimensional, imine linked covalent organic framework (COF) constructed from 1,3,5 tris(4 aminophenyl)benzene (TAPB) and 1,3,5 triformylbenzene (TFB). The TAPB–TFB COF was produced using mechanochemical synthesis, an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional solvothermal methods. The synthesis conditions were optimized in situ at the µSpot beamline of the BESSY II synchrotron, reducing the reaction time from three days (solvothermal) to just 90 minutes.
Future work will focus on elucidating the fundamental mechanisms that enable selective PFAS adsorption. Advancing new materials based on green mechanochemistry is expected to yield design principles that pave the way for high performance filtration media, with the long term goal of reducing PFAS contamination sustainably and efficiently.
Mechanochemically Synthesized Covalent Organic Framework Effectively Captures PFAS Contaminants
Maroof Arshadul Hoque, Thomas Sommerfeld, Jan Lisec, Prasenjit Das, Carsten Prinz, Christian Heinekamp, Tomislav Stolar, Martin Etter, David Rosenberger, Janine George, Biswajit Bhattacharya, Franziska Emmerling
Small: Volume 21, Issue 44, 2025