0
Article Tier 2 Sign in to save

The photo-aging of polyvinyl chloride microplastics under different UV irradiations

Gondwana Research 2021 141 citations

No summary available — this paper's abstract is not included in the open metadata provided by the publisher. Learn why →

Polymers

More Papers Like This

Article Tier 2

Effects of UV Exposure on Plastic Degradation in Water

AI summary Read the abstract

Researchers investigated how UV radiation accelerates the fragmentation of plastic polymers in water, finding that solar-initiated autocatalytic thermal oxidation is a key mechanism driving microplastic generation in aquatic environments.

Article Tier 2

Enhanced Leaching of Plasticizers from Polyvinyl Chloride Plastics Weathered by Simulated Solar Light

AI summary Read the abstract

A weathering study of plasticized PVC microplastics found that solar photo-aging dramatically accelerated the leaching of phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers compared to thermal aging alone, with plasticizer half-lives dropping from decades to less than a year after 18 years of simulated aging. This demonstrates that environmental weathering of PVC dramatically increases the release of potentially endocrine-disrupting chemicals into water, compounding the hazards of microplastic pollution beyond the particles themselves.

Article Tier 2

Plastics: Photodegradations and Mechanisms

AI summary Read the abstract

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.

Article Tier 2

Unveiling the protective role of biofilm formation on the photoaging of microplastics

AI summary Read the abstract

Researchers discovered that biofilms — thin layers of microbes that naturally colonize plastic surfaces in water — actually slow down the light-driven breakdown of microplastics by blocking UV radiation and reducing the reactive oxygen species that degrade the plastic, suggesting that real-world plastics may persist longer in nature than lab studies predict.

Article Tier 2

Photoaging of Polyvinyl Chloride and Polystyrene Under UVA Radiation in Diverse Environmental Conditions

AI summary Read the abstract

Researchers exposed polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene plastics to UVA radiation under diverse environmental conditions and tracked their photoaging and fragmentation, finding that UVA exposure accelerates microplastic generation in ways that vary with environmental context.

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.

Email me about

Share this paper