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Generation of nanoplastics during the photoageing of low-density polyethylene
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Researchers studied how low-density polyethylene microplastics break down under UV light equivalent to one year of solar exposure. They found that photoageing generated large numbers of smaller particles in the 1-5 micrometer range, effectively producing nanoplastics from larger microplastic fragments. The study suggests that environmental weathering of common plastic materials continuously generates ever-smaller particles that may be harder to detect and remove.
In this work, we studied the hydrolytic and photochemical degradation of three low-density polyethylene (LDPE) materials, within the size range of microplastics (MP). The MPs were exposed to mechanical agitation and UV irradiation equivalent to one year of solar UVB + UVA in a stirred photoreactor. Flow cytometry was used to track the formation of small (1-25 μm) MPs by applying Mie's theory to derive the size of MP particles from scattering intensity readings. The calculation was based on a calibration with polystyrene (PS) beads. The results showed that the generation of 1-5 μm MP reached 10-10 MPs in the 1-25 μm range per gram of LDPE. ATR-FTIR and micro-FTIR measurements evidenced the formation of oxygenated moieties, namely hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carbon-oxygen bonds, which increased with irradiation time. We also found evidence of the production of a high number of nanoplastics (<1 μm, NPs). The Dynamic Light Scattering size of secondary NPs was in the hundreds of nm range and might represent up to 10 NPs per gram of LDPE. Our results allowed the unambiguous spectroscopic assessment of the generation of NPs from LDPE under conditions simulating environmental exposure to UV irradiation and used flow cytometry for the first-time to track the formation of secondary MPs.
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Researchers demonstrated that accelerated weathering of low-density polyethylene produces nanoplastic particles, providing experimental evidence for the degradation pathway from macro-plastics to nanoscale fragments in the environment.
Analysis of ultraviolet and thermal degradations of four common microplastics and evidence of nanoparticle release
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Researchers studied how UV light and elevated temperature break down four common plastics and found that weathering releases nanoscale plastic particles. Polystyrene and polypropylene were particularly susceptible to UV degradation, generating significant numbers of nanoparticles. The findings confirm that environmental conditions actively fragment microplastics into even smaller, potentially more harmful nanoplastics.
Study on the impact of photoaging on the generation of very small microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) and the wettability of plastic surface
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Experiments using UV light to artificially age six common plastic types showed that sunlight (photoaging) accelerates the breakdown of plastics into very small microplastics and nanoplastics and makes plastic surfaces rougher and more chemically reactive. Understanding how different polymer structures respond to light aging is important for predicting which plastics will fragment fastest in the environment and generate the most hazardous small particles.
Ageing and fragmentation of marine microplastics
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Researchers studied how marine microplastics fragment into smaller particles when exposed to UV light and mechanical forces, simulating natural environmental aging. They found that aged microplastics generated an enormous number of fragments, reaching billions of particles per gram of plastic, with most pieces smaller than two micrometers. The results suggest that current environmental sampling methods severely undercount the true number of small microplastic and nanoplastic particles present in the ocean.
Size-dependent long-term weathering converting floating polypropylene macro- and microplastics into nanoplastics in coastal seawater environments
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Researchers found that floating polypropylene plastics of different sizes undergo long-term weathering in coastal seawater, with particle size decreasing by over 99% after accelerated UV exposure, demonstrating a size-dependent pathway for converting macroplastics into nanoplastics.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.