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Insight into chain scission and release profiles from photodegradation of polycarbonate microplastics

Water Research 2021 228 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 60 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Yanqi Shi, Peng Liu, Yanqi Shi, Xiaowei Wu, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Yanqi Shi, Xiaowei Wu, Hanyu Wang, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Hanyu Wang, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Peng Liu, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Yanqi Shi, Peng Liu, Xiaowei Wu, Peng Liu, Yanqi Shi, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Hexinyue Huang, Xiaowei Wu, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Xiaowei Wu, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Yanqi Shi, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Xiaowei Wu, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Huanhuan Shi, Huanhuan Shi, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Yanqi Shi, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Xiaowei Wu, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Yanqi Shi, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Xiaowei Wu, Peng Liu, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Peng Liu, Xiaowei Wu, Yanqi Shi, Peng Liu, Hexinyue Huang, Xiaowei Wu, Peng Liu, Hexinyue Huang, Hanyu Wang, Huanhuan Shi, Huanhuan Shi, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Hanyu Wang, Xiaowei Wu, Yanqi Shi, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hanyu Wang, Yanqi Shi, Hexinyue Huang, Hanyu Wang, Xiaowei Wu, Yanqi Shi, Hexinyue Huang, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Hanyu Wang, Hexinyue Huang, Yanqi Shi, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Hexinyue Huang, Peng Liu, Xiaowei Wu, Yanqi Shi, Shixiang Gao Hanyu Wang, Hexinyue Huang, Xiaowei Wu, Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Hexinyue Huang, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Peng Liu, Xiaowei Wu, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Peng Liu, Yanqi Shi, Hanyu Wang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Hexinyue Huang, Yanqi Shi, Hanyu Wang, Yanqi Shi, Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Xiaowei Wu, Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Peng Liu, Peng Liu, Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Xiaowei Wu, Shixiang Gao Peng Liu, Yanqi Shi, Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Yanqi Shi, Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao Shixiang Gao

Summary

Researchers studied how sunlight breaks down polycarbonate microplastics in water and what chemicals are released in the process. The study found that UV exposure caused the plastics to fragment into smaller pieces while releasing bisphenol A (BPA) and other potentially harmful organic compounds. Importantly, BPA accounted for only a small fraction of the total chemicals released, suggesting that many unknown degradation products are also entering aquatic environments.

Polymers

Body Systems

Endocrine

Bisphenol A polycarbonate (BPA-PC) is a kind of widely used engineering plastics. However, excessive usage causes the production of plastic wastes, following property changes of polymers and high risks of released chemicals during outdoor weathering. In this study, we systematically investigated the photoaging behavior of PC microplastics (MPs) in aquatic environment and evaluated the potential risk of released intermediates. Light irradiation along with mechanical abrasion facilitated the fragmentation of PC MPs and stimulated photooxidative modification during 640 h of ultraviolet (UV) exposure. Continuous degradation of the polymer was accompanied with dramatic decline of molecular weight. Also, BPA was released from irradiated PC MPs with a trend of an initial rapid increase followed by a decrease versus the irradiation time, and the maximum concentration of dropped BPA was detected up to 652.80 ± 72.89 μg/g (43.39% and 56.61% respectively in particles and leachates). However, the releasing amount of BPA in the leachate merely occupied 2.7% of the total organic carbon (TOC) leached out, suggesting that a great number of unknown organic products were produced other than BPA. Liquid chromatography-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) analysis showed that these organic compounds forming MPs-derived dissolved organic matter (MPs DOM) were partly composed of 4,4'-dihydroxybenzophenone (DHB), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HBA) and methyparaben (MeP), which would also contribute to the estrogenic activity. The degradation pathway of PC MPs was elaborated with the photolysis process of PC dimer and BPA, and the remarkable photoaging of PC MPs was mainly dominated by the generated reactive oxygen species (ROS). The findings of this study indicated that understanding the photoaging process of PC MPs was vital to evaluate their integral cumulative estrogenic activity in aquatic environment, and further highlighted the notable possible risks of plastic leachates to exposed biota.

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