近日，美国芝加哥大学Amanchukwu, Chibueze V.团队研究了锂金属介导的全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质的电化学还原。该研究于2026年1月20日发表在《自然-化学》杂志上。

全氟和多氟烷基物质具有显著的环境与健康危害。然而，现有降解途径往往需要高温或强腐蚀性条件，且/或会导致脱氟不完全并生成短链烷基副产物。

受锂金属电池相关研究的启发，研究组开发了一种利用活性金属与强还原环境的电化学降解工艺。实验表明，电沉积锂金属可实现全氟辛酸95%的降解率与94%的脱氟率，最终产物为氟化锂，且不会生成任何C₂-C₆短链全氟和多氟烷基物质终产物。通过计算模拟发现，从锂金属到全氟辛酸的电子转移会导致碳-氟键快速断裂、氟化物生成及碳链裂解。

研究组将该方法拓展至其他全氟和多氟烷基物质，在超过22种不同全氟和多氟烷基物质上实现了显著降解，并最终将其完全矿化为无机氟化物。最后，研究组将矿化产生的氟离子作为氟源，用于合成不含全氟和多氟烷基物质的氟化化合物，从而构建了从废弃物到高价值产品的完整氟循环。

附：英文原文

Title: Lithium metal-mediated electrochemical reduction of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances

Author: Sarkar, Bidushi, Kumawat, Rameshwar L., Ma, Peiyuan, Wang, Ke-Hsin, Mohebi, Matin, Schatz, George C., Amanchukwu, Chibueze V.

Issue&Volume: 2026-01-20

Abstract: Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have substantial environmental and health hazards. Unfortunately, current degradation routes require high temperatures or corrosive conditions and/or lead to incomplete defluorination and the generation of shorter alkyl chains. Inspired by the lithium-metal battery literature, here we develop an electrochemical degradation process that leverages reactive metals and highly reducing environments. We show that electrodeposited lithium metal can enable 95% degradation and 94% defluorination of perfluorooctanoic acid to LiF without forming any shorter C2–C6 PFAS as end products. Using computational simulations, we find that electron transfer from lithium to perfluorooctanoic acid leads to rapid C–F bond cleavage, fluoride formation and carbon chain fragmentation. We expand the scope to other PFAS compounds and demonstrate substantial degrees of degradation on over 22 different PFAS, plus complete mineralization to inorganic fluorides. Finally, we use the mineralized F as a fluorine source for the synthesis of fluorinated non-PFAS compounds to complete a circular fluorine loop from waste to valuable product.

DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-02057-7

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-025-02057-7