Andrew May
Ohio State University, OH·Earth & Environmental Science
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, are extremely stable chemicals once used widely in products such as non-stick coatings. They harm human health and have largely been phased out.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
Chemistry
Engineering
- Topics
per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances
perfluorooctanoic acid
forever chemicals
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Quantify saturation vapor pressure, Henry volatility and acid dissociation constants of PFAS such as PFOA and PFAS-replacing chemicals, to predict how they divide between air, water and particles.
- Run oxidation flow reactor experiments to measure how OH radicals, the atmosphere's main oxidant, break down PFAS and estimate their atmospheric lifetimes.
- Estimate rate constants for reactions of PFAS with OH radicals and develop possible reaction mechanisms for how these chemicals degrade.
More about the research
Yet they are still found in air and water, and scientists know little about how they break down or where they end up in the environment. This collaborative project uses laboratory experiments to fill that gap, focusing on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and on chemicals that have replaced PFAS.
Why it matters
PFAS persist in air and water and affect human health, but how long they survive in the atmosphere and what they turn into is unclear. Measured properties, lifetimes and reaction pathways for PFOA and replacement chemicals could improve predictions of where these pollutants travel. That could inform assessments of their impact on the environment and on people exposed to them.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Oishi Sanyal
West Virginia University, WV·Engineering·Early-career
Attach the natural enzyme laccase to lab-made polyelectrolyte membranes using several surface-anchoring techniques, creating a hybrid platform that breaks down the forever chemical PFOA in water.
Sarah Wu
University of Idaho, ID·Engineering
Build theoretical and thermodynamic models of liquid-phase plasma discharge in PFAS solutions to quantify energy delivery, plasma–liquid interactions and the generation of hydrated electrons, free electrons held among water molecules.
Rachel O'Brien
University of Michigan, MI·Earth & Environmental Science·Early-career
Measure how fast quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), common disinfectants, break down when exposed to OH radicals or ozone in airborne particles and indoor surface films.
The school
Ohio State University: 71 labs on PI Pages, $1.6B a year on research, 882 research doctorates a year.
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