Australian Research Council Future Fellowship PhD Scholarship 1: Supramolecular adsorbents that trap perfluorinated pollutants

Scholarship Information

Award value: $37000 annually

Level of study: Postgraduate

Closing date: 15/02/2025

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a large class of toxic man-made pollutants that have leached into waterways due to their historical use in aviation fire-fighting foams and as surfactants in manufacturing. Human exposure to PFAS is a widespread economic and health burden and even low levels of PFAS in human blood correlate with cancer and many serious chronic diseases. Using common adsorbents to remove PFAS from water is significantly hindered by their slow adsorption kinetics and poor affinity for short-chain PFAS – highly water-soluble variants with perfluoroalkyl chains of six carbons or less. This project aims to address this challenge by developing a molecular-scale approach to novel supramolecular adsorbents with enhanced affinity for short-chain PFAS, and broad-spectrum PFAS removal capabilities