New carbon-based catalyst breaks down forever chemicals using light

New carbon-based catalyst breaks down forever chemicals using light

Blue light, a sheet of filter paper, and a stubborn class of industrial chemicals do not sound like much of a match. Yet that simple setup sits at the center of a new attempt to tackle PFAS, the long-lasting compounds often called “forever chemicals” because they resist breaking down in nature. An international research team led by the University of Bath has built a prototype carbon-based catalyst that uses light to break down a model PFAS compo…