The extreme persistence, bioaccumulative, and toxicity tendencies of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have contributed to the ever-increasing quest for effective and low-cost technologies for removing PFAS from aqueous solutions. Therefore, in the present study, maize tassel (MT) was activated using phosphoric acid. The chemically activated maize tassel (CAMT) was thereafter applied as an adsorbent for removing perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) from aqueous media in comparison with the inactivated MT. The adsorption behaviors of PFOS and PFOA onto MT and CAMT were investigated via adsorption experiments. It was found that the isothermal data fit better with the Freundlich isotherm model than with the Langmuir isotherm model. Maximum adsorption capacities of 1552.5 mg g⁻¹ (3.10 mmol g⁻¹) and 380.32 mg g⁻¹ (0.92 mmol g⁻¹) were recorded for PFOS and PFOA, respectively, using CAMT, when the Freundlich model was applied. Equilibrium was attained within 60 min using both MT and CAMT. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model suited the kinetics data better. It was observed from the thermodynamic studies that the adsorption mechanism of PFOS and PFOA on MT and CAMT is spontaneous and feasible. All the values for the Gibb’s free energy change (ΔG⁰, kJ mol⁻¹) obtained in the present study were below − 20 kJ mol⁻¹. The adsorption of PFOS and PFOA using CAMT is exothermic in nature (enthalpy, ΔH⁰ was negative) whereas the adsorption of PFOS and PFOA using MT is endothermic. The PFOS and PFOA adsorption processes using both MT and CAMT were greatly influenced by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions.

全氟烷基物质和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）的极端持久性，生物蓄积性和毒性趋势，促使人们不断寻求从水溶液中去除PFAS的有效且低成本的技术。因此，在本研究中，玉米流苏（MT）是使用磷酸激活的。与灭活的MT相比，化学活化的玉米穗（CAMT）随后被用作吸附剂，用于从水性介质中去除全氟辛酸酯（PFOA）和全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）。通过吸附实验研究了PFOS和PFOA对MT和CAMT的吸附行为。发现等温数据与弗氏等温线模型比朗缪尔等温线模型更好。最大吸附量为1552.5 mg g ^-1当应用Freundlich模型时，使用CAMT分别记录了PFOS和PFOA （3.10 mmol g ^-1）（380.32 mg g ^-1）（0.92 mmol g ^-1）。使用MT和CAMT在60分钟内达到平衡。拟二阶动力学模型更适合动力学数据。通过热力学研究发现，PFOS和PFOA在MT和CAMT上的吸附机理是自发的和可行的。在本研究中获得的吉布自由能变化的所有值（ΔG ⁰，kJ mol ^-1）均低于-20 kJ mol ^-1。使用CAMT吸附PFOS和PFOA实际上是放热的（焓，ΔH ⁰为负），而使用MT吸附PFOS和PFOA是吸热的。同时使用MT和CAMT的PFOS和PFOA吸附过程受到静电和疏水相互作用的极大影响。