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TiO₂-based photocatalytic degradation of microplastics in water: Current status, challenges and future perspectives
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This review examines how titanium dioxide-based materials can break down microplastics in water using light energy, generating reactive molecules that dismantle plastic polymer chains. While promising, the technology still faces challenges with efficiency and potential harmful byproducts, and more research is needed before it can be used at scale to clean microplastics from real-world water supplies.
Microplastics are a growing environmental concern due to their persistence, widespread presence in water bodies and uncertain toxic effects on ecosystems and humans. TiO₂-based photocatalysis has emerged as a promising method for degrading microplastics, yet its application is still largely confined to controlled laboratory settings. This review highlights recent developments in the photocatalytic degradation of common plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate. The process involves generating reactive oxygen species, which initiate chain reactions that break down polymer chains into smaller byproducts. However, the lack of standardized protocols complicates the assessment of photocatalysis performance for microplastic degradation, especially in complex wastewater environments. Despite TiO₂’s advantages, including low cost and stability, its photocatalytic efficiency is often hindered by factors like low solar spectrum efficiency, mass transfer limitations, and charge recombination. These challenges result in low degradation rates and inconsistent outcomes. Further research is needed to improve photocatalyst design, reactor configurations and the standardization of degradation assessment techniques. Additionally, the potential formation of harmful byproducts raises concerns, requiring further investigation of their ecotoxicological impacts. When combined with other treatment methods, TiO₂ photocatalysis shows promise for addressing microplastic pollution and other emerging pollutants in water treatment. • TiO₂ photocatalysis shows promise for microplastic degradation but is limited in scale • Lack of protocols and simple matrices hinder efficiency assessment across studies • Plastic recalcitrance and TiO₂’s low solar activity limit photocatalysis effectiveness • Future work should improve catalysts, assess byproducts and integrate technologies
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This systematic review summarizes advances in using light-activated chemical processes to break down microplastics in the environment. The research shows that photocatalysis, especially using titanium dioxide, is a promising method for destroying microplastics without creating harmful byproducts, though more work is needed to speed up the process for real-world use.
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This review examines how titanium dioxide-based photocatalysts can degrade microplastics and nanoplastics under visible light conditions. Researchers found that while some composite materials achieved complete degradation of polystyrene particles, overall effectiveness remains limited at the laboratory scale. The study identifies key challenges and proposes future directions for developing more efficient photocatalytic approaches to plastic pollution remediation in water.
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Researchers tested the efficiency of multiple titanium dioxide microstructures for photocatalytic degradation of nanoplastics in aquatic environments, addressing the growing problem of sub-micron plastic fragments in global water systems. TiO2-based photocatalysis showed varying effectiveness depending on catalyst structure and particle properties.
Unravelling the photocatalytic degradation of polyethylene microplastics with TiO2 under UV light: Evidence from kinetic studies
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Researchers demonstrated that a titanium dioxide photocatalyst under UV light can break down polyethylene microplastics, achieving 34% mass loss in 8 hours and up to 54% over five treatment cycles. The process physically shrank the particles and chemically transformed them into simpler compounds like short-chain acids and carbon dioxide. While not yet ready for large-scale use, this technology could eventually help degrade microplastics in water treatment systems.
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This review assessed titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysis as a method for degrading macro- and microplastics, finding that UV-activated TiO2 can break polymer chains through reactive oxygen species under controlled conditions. Scalable photocatalytic degradation is a compelling remediation strategy because it can destroy microplastics rather than relocate them, potentially reducing the volume of particles available for human ingestion and environmental accumulation.
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