New Water Filter Made with Layered Copper and Aluminum Hydroxides Can Capture PFAS Chemicals Better and Faster Than Carbon Filters

       Researchers from Rice University in Texas recently unveiled a new water filtration system that can capture PFAS chemicals much faster than carbon filters. The new filter is made from layered copper and aluminum hydroxides. It can essentially suck in PFAS chemicals. The new filtration method utilizes a layered double hydroxide (LDH) material that combines copper and aluminum with nitrate.

"This LDH compound captured PFAS more than 1,000 times better than other materials," said Youngkun Chung, lead author of the study, per ScienceAlert. "It also worked incredibly fast, removing large amounts of PFAS within minutes, about 100 times faster than commercial carbon filters."

     The researchers hope to scale up the filtration technology and use it in both drinking water and wastewater treatment plants. After filtration, the captured PFAS chemicals can be disposed of safely.  

     According to Science Alert:

“The material's unique structure emerges from layers of copper and aluminum with a slight imbalance in their charge, sucking in PFOA molecules, which bind tightly with the filter.”

“Once the adsorption material was saturated with PFOA, the team heated the material and added calcium carbonate, which allowed them to 'clean' the LDH for reuse and strip the PFOA of its fluorine backbone, effectively destroying it.”

     According to The Guardian:

“This material is going to be important for the direction of research on Pfas destruction in general,” said Michael Wong, director of Rice’s Water Institute, a Pfas research center.

“Wong said Rice’s non-thermal process works by soaking up and concentrating Pfas at high levels, which makes it possible to destroy them without high temperatures.”

“The LDH material Rice developed is a variation of similar materials previously used, but researchers replaced some aluminum atoms with copper atoms. The LDH material is positively charged and the long-chain Pfas are negatively charged, which causes the material to attract and remove the chemicals, Wong said.

     Advantages of this new filtration method include its high capture rate, its fast capture rate, and its ability to be used as a “drop-in” with existing infrastructure. That will help keep its cost low.

     According to PFAS researcher and civil engineer Laura Orlando:

“We’re going to need as many technologies as we can possibly find to deal with Pfas in drinking water, and if this works to scale on wastewater, then it would be really something to pay attention to,” Orlando said.

     The research was published in a paper in the journal Advanced Materials.

     In conclusion, this looks like a legitimate breakthrough in water filtration for PFAS chemicals, if it can be scaled up without issues.

 

 

References:

 

Researchers find breakthrough solution on common contaminants linked to cancer, fertility issues: 'Worked incredibly fast'. Beth Newhart. The Cool Down. February 9, 2026. Researchers find breakthrough solution on common contaminants linked to cancer, fertility issues: 'Worked incredibly fast'

Breakthrough Water Filter Removes 'Forever Chemicals' 100x Faster Than Carbon. Jess Cockerill. Science Alert. February 3, 2026. Breakthrough Water Filter Removes 'Forever Chemicals' 100x Faster Than Carbon : ScienceAlert

Regenerable Water Remediation Platform for Ultrafast Capture and Mineralization of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. Keon-Han Kim, Youngkun Chung, Philip Kenyon, Thi Nhung Tran, Nicholas H. Rees, Seung-Ju Choi, Xiaopeng Huang, Jong Hui Choi, Phelecia Scotland, Sion Kim, Mohamed Ateia, Do-Kyoung Lee, James M. Tour, Pedro J. J. Alvarez, Michael S. Wong, Seoktae Kang. Advanced Materials. Volume 38, Issue1. 2 January 2026. e09842. Regenerable Water Remediation Platform for Ultrafast Capture and Mineralization of Per‐ and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances - Kim - 2026 - Advanced Materials - Wiley Online Library

New filtration technology could be gamechanger in removal of Pfas ‘forever chemicals’. Tom Perkins. The Guardian. January 3, 2026. New filtration technology could be gamechanger in removal of Pfas ‘forever chemicals’ | Pfas | The Guardian