Fluorinated Block Copolymer: An Important Sorbent Design Criteria for Effective PFOA Removal from Its Aqueous Solution

Sadifa Anjum; Michael Arik; Arya Patel; Nyalah Abasali; Laying Wu; Amrita Sarkar

doi:10.1021/acsapm.4c03792

Fluorinated Block Copolymer: An Important Sorbent Design Criteria for Effective PFOA Removal from Its Aqueous Solution

ACS Appl Polym Mater. 2025 Feb 3;7(3):1187-1193. doi: 10.1021/acsapm.4c03792. eCollection 2025 Feb 14.

Authors

Sadifa Anjum¹, Michael Arik¹, Arya Patel¹, Nyalah Abasali¹, Laying Wu², Amrita Sarkar^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey 07043, United States.
² College of Science and Mathematics, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey 07043, United States.
³ Sokol Institute for Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey 07043, United States.

Abstract

An important question remains unresolved, despite extensive studies on polymer-based sorbents for adsorbing poly and perfluoro alkyl substances (PFAS): How does the positioning of the fluorine-rich segment in polymer affect PFAS removal? Herein, we designed a linear, uncharged triblock copolymer incorporating a fluorinated moiety in the polymer backbone, which effectively removed perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from water. In contrast, polymers without fluorogenic moiety or with it in the side chains showed significantly poorer PFOA removal. Our finding suggests that PFOA adsorption is more influenced by C-F···F-C interactions when the fluorinated segment is in the polymer backbone, not in the side chain.