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Photo-aging of brominated epoxy microplastics in water under simulated solar irradiation
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Researchers studied the photo-aging of brominated epoxy resin (BER) microplastics under simulated solar irradiation in aquatic environments, finding that photodegradation caused surface oxidation, particle size reduction, increased hydrophilicity, and surface void formation. The process also generated environmentally persistent free radicals and broke C-Br bonds, indicating that covalently bound tetrabromobisphenol A undergoes transformation during photo-aging of BER microplastics.
Microplastics have become an increasingly concerning pollutant in aquatic environments, and photodegradation is their main degradation pathway in water. Gaining insight into the transformation process of microplastics will enhance our understanding of their behavior and destiny in natural environments. This paper studied the aging process of BER microplastics in aquatic environments under simulated sunlight and investigated the changes in the physical and chemical properties of microplastics and the changes in the leachate. During the photodegradation process, BER-MPs underwent extensive oxidation and reduction in particle size, and the originally smooth surface developed numerous voids, accompanied by yellowing. Introduction of O atoms in the molecular chains increased their hydrophilicity, resulting in the polymer chains breaking away from the plastic particles and dissolving in water. Also, once BER was excited by light, environmentally persistent free radicals are produced on its surface. Moreover, the breaking of C-Br bonds occurred during the photodegradation process of BER-MPs, which suggested that tetrabromobisphenol A would be transformed during the photoaging process of BER even if it was covalently bound to BER.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.