Title:

Cyclodextrin Metal Organic Frameworks for PFAS adsorption

Per/poly fluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, are a rising issue today. Dubbed as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence, they have been linked to many kinds of cancer, including but not limited to kidney, breast, testicular, and thyroid cancer. The F.E.M. group aims to remove PFAS from domestic water using metal organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are a subgroup of porous polymers, that have a high degree of pore tunability, high surface area, and high absorption capacity that make them ideal for this purpose. Specifically, g-cyclodextrin was used for this project, which is a safe backbone to use that offers a large pore size to work with. To form these MOFs, we used a vapor diffusion technique. A one-liter jar was used to hold a 100 mL beaker containing a solution of g-cyclodextrin and a potassium salt or dimethydichlorosilane. They were then characterized using SEM, pXRD, and optical microscope imaging. We found that the product retained their cubic nature, as well as their crystallinity through peaks showing at 4.05, 5.38, 7.64 2theta, while forming new peaks with the dimethyldichlorosilane at 28.34 and 40.56 2theta. Furthermore, it does not dissolve in water, a main goal of this project. Moving forward, we plan to recrystallize the product and determine if it remains water stable and determine its ability to adsorb PFAS in large quantities.

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