Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals extensively employed in both consumer and industrial products due to their thermal stability and water- and oil-repellent properties. However, the strong C-F bonds in PFAS render them highly resistant to degradation, resulting in significant environmental pollution and adverse health effects, including liver damage, thyroid disorders, and cancer. Conventional methods such as activated carbon and ion-exchange resins can remove PFAS from water but do not degrade them, leading to concentrated waste. To enhance both the removal and degradation of PFAS, nanomaterials such as graphene oxide (GO) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer synergistic advantages by enabling efficient adsorption of PFAS and subsequent degradation of the adsorbed compounds through electrooxidation or photocatalytic interaction. MOFs, with their tunable porosity and photocatalytic properties, have demonstrated potential for contaminant degradation. MOF-carbon composites further enhance electrochemical performance, while certain MOFs can catalyze degradation through light or redox activation. In this study, we developed GO-MOF composite membranes for the combined adsorption and degradation of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) as two representatives of long- and short-chain PFAS. Two MOFs, MOF-808 and Cu-MOF exhibited acceptable adsorption (60 - 95%) for PFOS at 2 ppm at room temperature within 24 h. To develop a continuous removal process, these MOFs were integrated with GO and covalently attached to ultrafiltration (UF) membrane surfaces through dopamine-assisted priming and subsequent reaction with amine-reactive esters in an aqueous solution at room temperature. The conductivity of different configuration of GO, GO-Cu-MOF/MOF808, GO-Cu-MOF/MOF-808-polydopamine deposited on UF membranes were measured and resulted in the range of 1 nS/cm to 100 mS/cm. The membranes will first be evaluated for PFOS removal from water using a crossflow filtration setup, followed by defluorination-based degradation at room temperature to achieve mineralization. This integrated membrane-based platform offers a promising and scalable approach for both removing and degrading persistent PFAS from contaminated water sources under mild, energy-efficient conditions.
