Prof. Lee Blaney of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County will present “Reliable Measurement and Estimation of Physicochemical Properties for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances.”

For the last 80 years, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been incorporated into industrial and consumer products such as firefighting foams, food packaging materials, and water-resistant fabrics. More recently, PFAS were found to be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic, leading to their classification as “forever chemicals” and regulation in drinking water. Although PFAS are increasingly studied, the values of fundamental properties such as acid dissociation and octanol-water partition constants remain highly uncertain. This uncertainty precludes accurate understanding of PFAS fate and transport in natural and engineered systems.

In response to this challenge, Blaney and his team are working to measure physicochemical properties for PFAS through robust deconvolution and internal redundancy techniques. Apparent octanol-water partition constants were measured along pH gradients using shake flask and high-performance liquid chromatography techniques, and the data were used to solve for acid dissociation and species-specific octanol-water partition constants. The consistency of measured parameters was confirmed with respect to PFAS chain length and head group, facilitating more accurate chemical structure-based estimation tools in the future.

Sponsored by the Chemistry Department.

Campus community only, please.