Factors Influencing the Ferric Ion-mediated Photochemical Decomposition of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) in Water

Abstract Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has received increasing attention due to its persistence in the environment, accumulation and global occurrence. The enhancement of the photochemical oxidative degradation of perfluorooctane sulfonate upon addition of ferric ions under 254-nm UV and 185-nm vacuum UV (VUV) light was observed for the first time. In the presence of ferric ions (100 μM) and at pH 3.0, 85.3% of the initial PFOS (20 μM) was decomposed, with the rate constant of 1.92 d