CANBERRA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Scientists in Australia have developed a new method to remove persistent toxic PFAS chemicals from contaminated water, tackling a major environmental challenge.

The research team has discovered adsorbents that effectively capture PFAS, including short-chain forms that are especially difficult to remove using existing technologies, said a statement from Australia's Flinders University on Thursday.

The study, published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, showcases the use of a nano-sized "molecular cage" that acts as a highly selective "PFAS trap."

"While some long-chain PFAS can be partially removed using existing water treatment technologies, the capture of short-chain PFAS, which are more mobile in water, remains a major unresolved challenge," said the project leader Witold Bloch, who is an Australian Research Council Research fellow from Flinders University.

Researchers discovered that a nano-sized cage captures short-chain PFAS by forcing the pollutants to aggregate inside its cavity, using a strong binding mechanism unlike that of traditional adsorbents, enabling efficient removal when the cages are embedded in mesoporous silica.

Laboratory tests showed the adsorbent removed up to 98 percent of PFAS from model tap water at environmentally relevant concentrations and stayed effective after multiple reuses, with potential for water filtration systems, Bloch said.

PFAS substances, widely used in industrial manufacturing and firefighting foams, persist in the environment and have been linked to serious health risks, researchers said.