About the Project
Per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their emerging alternatives have become some of the most challenging contaminants of the 21st century. These highly fluorinated compounds, encompassing legacy species such as PFOA and PFOS, as well as a rapidly expanding suite of short‑chain and polymeric replacements, are now recognised as persistent, mobile, and bioaccumulative pollutants with demonstrated adverse effects in humans and wildlife. Their extreme chemical stability, which underpins their widespread industrial utility, also drives their environmental persistence, earning them the designation of “forever chemicals.” As monitoring capabilities have improved, PFAS have been detected in drinking water, groundwater, soils, sediments, and biota across the globe, including in remote regions far from their points of manufacture or use. Environmental concentrations continue to rise in many regions, reflecting both historical emissions and ongoing releases from industrial processes, consumer products, and waste management pathways.
Building upon the Fletcher group’s extensive research into the removal of pesticides, organic pollutants, and heavy metals from water streams, this project proposes the development of novel sorbent materials specifically designed for the capture of PFAS and PFAS alternatives from contaminated water sources. These persistent organic species represent a critical class of emerging pollutants whose removal requires tailored approaches that account for their unique physicochemical properties, including hydrophobic–lipophobic balance, strong C–F bonding, and high aqueous mobility.
The project will focus on designing and synthesising porous solid sorbents with engineered surface functionalities capable of interacting with both legacy and emerging PFAS species. This work aligns naturally with the group’s expertise in adsorption‑based remediation and has strong potential for future collaboration with CMAC, particularly in targeting PFAS associated with pharmaceutical manufacturing, polymer processing, and advanced materials production. The group’s recent development of a solid‑bed system for organic contaminant removal, validated using water supplied by a partner water company, provides a robust platform upon which PFAS‑specific technologies can be built.
The student will synthesise and modify adsorbent materials within the porous‑solids families, systematically varying both the porous architecture and the nature and density of surface functional groups. This dual‑modification strategy is essential for tailoring sorbent–PFAS interactions, which depend on a combination of electrostatic forces, hydrophobic interactions, and specific binding motifs capable of engaging with fluorinated chains.
The project is expected to deliver a suite of high‑impact outcomes across materials development, environmental engineering, and wider societal benefit. Scientifically, the work will generate new insights into the structure–property relationships governing PFAS and PFAS‑alternative adsorption, establishing fundamental principles that can guide future sorbent design. The project will produce a library of engineered porous materials with tailored surface chemistries, alongside detailed adsorption datasets, mechanistic understanding, and validated performance metrics in both batch and flow‑through systems.
Societally, the project will contribute to global water‑security efforts by advancing remediation strategies for persistent contaminants that disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. Open‑access publication of all outputs, combined with transparent data deposition in the University’s PURE repository, will ensure that the findings are accessible to researchers, regulators, and practitioners worldwide.
All Strathclyde PhD students undertake the Strathclyde Researcher Development programme (PGCert), which provides a framework for skills and knowledge development, with the award of the separate qualification in conjunction with the PhD. Additionally, all PGR students are automatically enrolled in the Strathclyde Doctoral School, providing opportunities for students to network and intensifying their research dissemination.
Information about the host department can be found by visiting:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/engineering/chemicalprocessengineering
http://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/research/chemicalprocessengineering/
Funding Notes
This PhD project offer full funding for 4 years for a UK candidate. Funding covers stipend and fees at the UK/Home fee amount. Students applying should have (or expect to achieve) a minimum 2.1 undergraduate degree in a relevant engineering/science discipline, and be highly motivated to undertake multidisciplinary research.
References
Jamal, M. U., Fletcher, A. et al. (2024)
Scottish softwood biochar for water remediation targeting persistent organic pollutants. Adsorption Science & Technology, 42, 1–25.
Aladeokin, O. & Fletcher, A. (2024)
A novel activated carbon for dye removal: kinetics, isotherms, mechanism. Adsorption Science & Technology, 42, 1–24.
Regincós Martí, E., McCarron, J., Doñagueda Suso, B., Kennedy, A. R., Fletcher, A. J. & Craig, G. A. (2025)
A 1D coordination network with gas sorption properties. Polyhedron, 268, 117382.
Tasca, A. L., Fletcher, A. et al. (2019)
Organics adsorption on amorphous silica xerogels: microcolumn breakthrough testing. Journal of Porous Media, 22, 1001–1014.
Tao, B. & Fletcher, A. (2016)
Dual‑stage method for metaldehyde removal from water. Chemical Engineering Journal, 284, 741–749.
