- UT Dallas scientists test new materials to remove PFAS.
- Metal-organic frameworks work in seconds, not days.
- Federal grant supports research on water contamination.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS or forever chemicals, are a group of about 15,000 chemicals used since the 1950s in products such as nonstick cookware, food packaging, firefighting foam, textiles, cleaning products, and cosmetics. Their carbon-fluorine bonds are extremely durable, which makes them useful but also resistant to natural breakdown.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
, nearly all Americans have PFAS in their blood. Studies suggest that long-term exposure may be linked to higher cholesterol, weakened immune response, and certain cancers. Because they do not easily degrade, PFAS have earned the nickname “forever chemicals.”
A New Approach Emerges in Texas.
On September 5, 2025, the University of Texas at Dallas announced that Dr. Mario Wriedt, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is leading a project to test metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for removing PFAS from the environment. The work is supported by a three-year, $581,000 grant from the Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program.
MOFs are highly porous materials with nanoscale cavities designed to trap specific substances. “The beauty of MOFs is that they are nontoxic; they are extremely stable; and they work in a matter of seconds, not days,” Wriedt said in the university’s announcement. He added that their pore geometry can be customized to target PFAS while ignoring other contaminants often found in water.
Limits of Current Methods.
For decades, water treatment facilities have relied on activated carbon and ion exchange resins to capture PFAS. These materials are inexpensive but slow to work and effective against only certain types of PFAS. In addition, once saturated, they typically end up in landfills, raising concerns about secondary contamination.
Wriedt explained that MOFs could be reused instead of discarded. “Unlike activated carbon, which has limitations to be reclaimed, we can simply wash the PFAS out and reuse our MOFs for another round of adsorption,” he said.
Breaking Down the Chemicals.
In addition to trapping PFAS, the research group is exploring ways to use MOFs as photocatalysts that break the strong carbon-fluorine bonds and convert PFAS into nonharmful substances. The goal is to create a cost-effective material that can outperform existing technologies and be scaled for widespread use.
Collaboration and Testing.
The UT Dallas team is working with collaborators at the University of Central Florida, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Clarkson University. They are testing MOFs in the laboratory with simulated samples and also applying them to field samples, including groundwater affected by firefighting foams.
“The good news is, we have identified this as a problem,” Wriedt said. “There is a large research community looking into developing alternatives to PFAS, but we still have to deal with the mess that is already out there that won’t go away on its own.”
Image:
UT Dallas’ Natural Science Engineering and Research Laboratory. 2010. Stan9999, released under public domain.
