Portable graphene-based devices for detection and quantification of poly- and per-fluorinated compounds (PFAS) – FluoroGraph

The aim of the FluoroGraph project is to design portable (on-site) analytical devices for the detection and quantification of poly- and perfluorinated compounds (PFAS). Although PFASs have been used in a wide range of fields and consumer products since the 1950s (textiles, food packaging, fire-fighting foams, non-stick coatings, plant protection products, cosmetics, etc.), they are now clearly established as toxic "Forever Chemicals". In view of growing concerns about the impact of PFAS on human and ecosystem health, national and international standards for PFAS concentration limits have recently been established and will need to be implemented very soon. For example, in 2019, the Council of the European Union has called for a program to eliminate all non-essential uses of PFAS, and PFAS will have to be included in sanitary analyses of drinking water in France from 2026. However, before any PFAS reduction measures can be implemented, we need to improve our knowledge and methods for analyzing, impacting and treating PFAS, and to gain a better understanding of these substances in the environment. In particular, monitoring and quantifying PFAS is a real challenge today. At present, PFAS are difficult to quantify using chromatographic techniques, but their detection and quantification using other techniques, particularly for "on site" analysis, remains to be found.
This is the background of the Fluorograph Joint Laboratory project, whose main goal will be to design miniaturized PFAS analysis devices that can be used on site. This project, both fundamental and applied, will bring together the skills of the EDYTEM laboratory (Environnements, DYnamiques et TErritoires de la Montagne) at the Université Savoie Mont Blanc and the Grenoble-based company GRAPHEAL. EDYTEM has strong expertise in environmental and analytical chemistry, particularly in the study and monitoring of pollutants, whether in water, air or soil, while GRAPHEAL is developing innovative technology for the design of portable sensors and analysis devices based on Graphene (graphene is a conductive monolayer of pure crystalline carbon). The aim is to combine the complementary skills of the two partners to produce, within 4 to 5 years, a miniaturized device for on-board detection of PFAS. To achieve this, electrochemical and Field Effect Transistor (FET)-type detectors are targeted, in which the central part will consist of a graphene layer combined with a molecular film sensitive to the presence of PFAS. Once this hybrid component has been determined, prototype sensor devices will be developed, enabling tests to be carried out in the laboratory and then on site (rivers, lakes, etc.).
While this 4-year project will focus primarily on the analysis of PFAS in aqueous media, in the longer term their detection in soil and air will be studied by the Fluorograph laboratory. It should also be noted that, in parallel with this central project, and in order to acquire additional knowledge on PFAS-Carbon interactions, we also plan to study the remediation of PFAS via the use of carbonaceous materials, as well as their degradation into small molecules by sono-electrochemistry (combination of ultrasound + advanced oxidation process).