Lithium helps reduce PFAS to reusable fluorine

By Prachi Patel | C&EN | January 29, 2026

Read the full article by Prachi Patel (C&EN).

“Lithium’s high reactivity can cause trouble in batteries based on lithium-metal anodes. The metal degrades the fluorinated electrolytes used in these batteries, affecting performance.

Because these electrolytes contain fluorine, as do PFAS, the harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that persist in the environment, Chibueze Amanchukwu says he and his colleagues at the University of Chicago wondered ‘can we take that disadvantage of a lithium-metal battery and apply it to PFAS destruction?’

The researchers tested their hunch by dissolving PFAS in the electrolyte solution of a lithium-containing electrochemical cell. They found that lithium indeed helps break 95% of the strong carbon-fluorine bonds in perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a common PFAS (Nat. Chem. 2026, DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-02057-7).

Instead of chopping up PFOA into smaller PFAS with shorter carbon chains, the lithium-based method breaks it down completely to lithium fluoride. The researchers reused the fluoride to make non-PFAS compounds relevant for batteries and pharmaceuticals. The team showed that the method also works to various extents on 33 other such compounds.”…

This content provided by the PFAS Project.