Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) is a

fluorosurfactant Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. An early definition, from 2011, required that they contain at least one perfluoroalkyl mo ...

and has been used in industry, with applications as

wetting agent Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...

and

flame retardant The term flame retardants subsumes a diverse group of chemicals that are added to manufactured materials, such as plastics and textiles, and surface finishes and coatings. Flame retardants are activated by the presence of an ignition source and ...

. It was recently linked to health concerns, like other fluorosurfactants, leading to proposed restrictions on its use. In 2020, a California bill banned its use as an intentionally added ingredient in cosmetics. It has been proposed as a chemical probe to study peroxisome proliferation.

References

{{Scholia, Q27116511, chemical Perfluorocarboxylic acids Pollutants Anionic surfactants