Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a man-made water contaminate, whose presence has been detected in drinking water all over the USA and Europe. PFOA is used for materials such as non-stick, waterproof, stain resistant and more. It resists breaking down and is present in human blood/the environment. Exposure to PFOA is linked to harmful life-long health effects in humans and animals.

In previous work, PFOA has been found to electrochemical degrade using materials such as boron- doped electrodes and mixed meatal oxides (MMO). However, these materials are expensive and relatively unstable. Therefore, we present an alternative material made of molecular inspired porphyrin-based heterogenous electrocatalysts for the electrochemical degradation of PFOA. These molecular systems can degrade up to 60% of PFOA within 4h, under alkaline conditions to avoid water reduction reaction. Analysis by 19F NMR showed the defluorination process, and quantification of fluoride ions in solution demonstrated partial hydrogenation of the PFOA chains.