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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Detection Methods
Nanoplastics
Remediation
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Photocatalytic aging process of Nano-TiO2 coated polypropylene microplastics: Combining atomic force microscopy and infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR) for nanoscale chemical characterization
Journal of Hazardous Materials2020
86 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 40
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Yaoyao Zhao,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Yu Li,
Yahui Xiang,
Yahui Xiang,
Yahui Xiang,
Yahui Xiang,
Yu Li,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Yaoyao Zhao,
Yaoyao Zhao,
Yu Li,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Yaoyao Zhao,
Yu Li,
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Yaoyao Zhao,
Yu Li,
Hongwei Luo,
Yaoyao Zhao,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Yu Li,
Xiangliang Pan
Yahui Xiang,
Yahui Xiang,
Yahui Xiang,
Yahui Xiang,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Yu Li,
Yaoyao Zhao,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Hongwei Luo,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Hongwei Luo,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Yu Li,
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Xiangliang Pan
Summary
Researchers investigated the photocatalytic aging of nano-TiO2 coated polypropylene microplastics using AFM-IR nanoscale chemical characterization, finding that the TiO2 coating accelerated surface degradation and altered the physicochemical properties of the microplastics compared to pristine and conventionally aged counterparts.
Microplastics (MPs) are considered to have greater environmental hazards than large plastics. Most MPs undergo different degrees of aging and aged MPs exhibit different physicochemical properties from pristine ones. This study successfully prepared a nano-TiO coated polypropylene MPs, and explored the nanoscale infrared, thermal, and mechanical properties of MPs before and after photo-aging using a combined AFM-IR technique. Surface height range of MPs was ± 25 nm. The signal intensity of the absorption peak at 1654 cm in terms of vinylidene end groups gradually increased as the irradiation time prolonged. The softening temperature of MPs decreased from 126.7 °C to 108.5 °C as the irradiation time increased from 0 h to 4 h. The MPs after photo-aging became stiffer, especially for the components surrounding the nano-TiO particle, indicating that photocatalytic reaction accelerated the aging process of MPs. The resonance frequency of MPs surrounding the nano-TiO particle was stronger after photo-aging and the stiffer components were uniformly distributed, confirming that the thermal and mechanical properties of MPs changed after photo-aging. These novel findings are essential to better understand the changes in the surface microstructures, physical properties, and chemical compositions of MPs during aging process.