Goethite reshapes photodegradation pathways and site selectivity of environmentally relevant polystyrene microplastics

Photocatalytic Degradation of Microplastic in the Environment

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Researchers reviewed photocatalytic degradation as a promising approach for breaking down microplastics in the environment, finding it may offer advantages over incineration and filtration — though practical challenges around scale and efficiency remain.

Plastics: Photodegradations and Mechanisms

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This chapter detailed the photodegradation mechanisms by which UV radiation breaks polymer chains in common plastics, progressively generating smaller microplastic and nanoplastic fragments without eliminating the material from the environment. Understanding these photochemical pathways clarifies why sunlight-exposed plastic waste — in oceans, soils, and landfills — continuously generates new microplastic particles that accumulate in ecosystems and food chains.

Simulated sunlight exposure as a prerequisite for the biodegradation of persistent microplastics

Photocatalytic-Driven Self-Degradation of Polyester Microplastics Under Solar Light

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"Researchers synthesized a polyester fiber modified with a g-C3N4/TiO2 photocatalyst that can self-degrade under solar illumination, achieving near-complete breakdown into CO2 and water after 400 hours of light exposure. Designing plastics that decompose under sunlight rather than fragmenting into persistent microplastics offers a proactive materials-level strategy to reduce the volume of synthetic polymer pollution entering ecosystems."

High-Efficiency photocatalytic degradation of polystyrene microplastics using In2O3-rGO nanocomposite catalysts under visible Light

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Researchers developed an indium oxide-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite catalyst that degrades polystyrene microplastics under visible light, achieving 56% degradation of 500 nm particles in 12 hours, with FTIR and Raman analysis confirming carbonyl group formation and the degraded particles aggregating into larger clusters suitable for filtration removal from drinking water.