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Characterizing Atmospheric Oxidation and Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity of Polystyrene Nanoplastic Particles
Summary
Scientists measured for the first time how quickly polystyrene nanoplastics break down in the atmosphere when exposed to hydroxyl radicals, finding they can last from a few hours to about 80 days depending on particle size. The oxidized nanoplastics became better at forming cloud droplets, meaning they could influence weather and climate patterns. This research shows that airborne nanoplastics are not just a pollution problem but could also affect atmospheric processes and the air we breathe.
Nanoplastic particles (NPPs) are emerging anthropogenic pollutants and have been detected in urban, rural, and remote areas. Characterizing the lifetime, fate, and cloud-forming potential of atmospheric NPPs improves our understanding of their environmental processes and climate impacts. This study provides the first quantified heterogeneous reaction rate and lifetime of polystyrene (PS) NPPs against common atmospheric oxidants. The atomized PS NPPs were introduced to a Potential Aerosol Mass (PAM) oxidation flow reactor with ·OH exposure of 0 to 1.5 × 1012 molecules cm-3 s, equivalent to atmospheric exposure from 0 to 18 days, assuming an ambient ·OH concentration of 1 × 106 cm-3. The decay of the PS mass concentration was quantified by monitoring tracer ions, C6H6+ (m/z 78) and C8H8+ (m/z 104), by using a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS). The pseudo-first-order rate constant of PS particles reacting with ·OH, kOH, was determined to be (3.2 ± 0.7) × 10-13 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, equivalent to a half-lifetime of a few hours to ∼80 days in the atmosphere, depending on particle sizes and hydroxyl radical concentrations. The hygroscopicity of 100 nm PS NPPs at different ·OH exposure levels was quantified using a cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNC), showing a twofold increase of hygroscopicity parameter upon 27 days of atmospheric photooxidation.