Papers

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Article Tier 2

Impactof Minerals(Ferrihydrite and Goethite) andTheir Organo-Mineral Complexes on Fate and Transport of Nanoplasticsin the Riverine and Terrestrial Environments

Researchers investigated how iron minerals ferrihydrite and goethite, along with their organo-mineral complexes, influence the mobility and transport of nanoplastics in riverine and terrestrial environments, finding that organic matter coatings substantially alter nanoplastic behavior compared to pure mineral phases.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics interaction with feldspar and weathering originated secondary minerals (kaolinite and gibbsite) in the riverine environment

Researchers studied how nanoplastics interact with common river minerals (feldspar, kaolinite, and gibbsite) in freshwater environments. Nanoplastics adsorbed onto mineral surfaces, with the type of mineral and water chemistry affecting how strongly they stuck. Understanding these interactions helps predict how nanoplastics move through rivers and how available they are to living organisms.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of magnetite and its weathering originated maghemite and hematite minerals on sedimentation and transport of nanoplastics in the aqueous and subsurface environments

Researchers compared how three iron oxide minerals — magnetite, maghemite, and hematite — affect nanoplastic sorption and transport in aqueous and subsurface environments, finding that magnetite's smaller size, positive surface charge, and higher surface hydroxyl density make it the most effective at capturing nanoplastics and limiting their mobility in river water-saturated sand columns.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Charge mediated interaction of polystyrene nanoplastic (PSNP) with minerals in aqueous phase

Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with common soil and sediment minerals, finding that positively charged iron oxide minerals (goethite and magnetite) strongly adsorb nanoplastics via electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding, while negatively charged clay minerals do not — providing mechanistic insight into how nanoplastics may accumulate in iron-rich soils and sediments.

2020 Water Research 177 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of iron/aluminum (hydr)oxide and clay minerals on heteroaggregation and transport of nanoplastics in aquatic environment

Researchers examined how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with nine different minerals in aquatic environments, finding that positively charged iron and aluminum (hydr)oxide minerals readily form aggregates with nanoplastics through electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, while humic acid and shifting pH significantly suppress this aggregation.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Deposition behaviors of carboxyl-modified polystyrene nanoplastics with goethite in aquatic environment: Effects of solution chemistry and organic macromolecules

Researchers systematically measured how pH, ions, and dissolved organic molecules affect the settling of carboxylated nanoplastics onto the iron mineral goethite, finding that higher pH, multivalent anions, and organic macromolecules (especially alginate) strongly inhibit deposition through electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of particle size and oxide phase on microplastic transport through iron oxide-coated sand

Researchers studied how different types of iron oxide coatings on sand affect the movement of polystyrene microplastics through soil. They found that magnetite-coated sand retained the most microplastics, while goethite-coated sand retained the least, with results matching theoretical predictions. The findings suggest that naturally iron-rich soils could serve as effective barriers to prevent microplastic transport through groundwater systems.

2024 Water Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular Insights into the Synergistic Inhibition of Microplastics-Derived Dissolved Organic Matter and Anions on the Transformation of Ferrihydrite

Researchers investigated how dissolved organic matter released from microplastics combines with naturally occurring ions to affect iron mineral transformations in the environment. They found that microplastic-derived organic matter and ions like phosphate work together to strongly inhibit the conversion of a reactive iron mineral called ferrihydrite. The findings matter because these iron minerals play key roles in nutrient cycling and pollutant fate in soils and waterways.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Heterogeneous aggregation of microplastics and mineral particles in aquatic environments: Effects of surface functional groups, pH, and electrolytes

Researchers studied how microplastics clump together with soil and rock minerals in water, finding that positively charged minerals bound to plastic particles nearly three times more effectively than clay minerals, and that low pH and calcium ions dramatically accelerated aggregation. Understanding these dynamics helps predict where microplastics will settle or stay suspended in rivers, lakes, and aquifers.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative effects of crystalline, poorly crystalline and freshly formed iron oxides on the colloidal properties of polystyrene microplastics

Researchers found that freshly formed iron oxides caused the greatest aggregation of polystyrene microplastics in water, with effects decreasing in the order: freshly formed iron oxide > ferrihydrite > goethite > haematite. The findings suggest that iron oxide copresence can delay microplastic transport or alter their environmental fate depending on pH and crystallinity of the mineral.

2022 Environmental Pollution 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between Iron Minerals and Dissolved Organic Matter Derived from Microplastics Inhibited the Ferrihydrite Transformation as Revealed at the Molecular Scale

Researchers studied how dissolved organic matter released from degrading microplastics interacts with iron minerals in the environment. They found that this microplastic-derived organic matter inhibited the natural transformation of ferrihydrite, an important iron mineral in soil and water systems. The study reveals that microplastic breakdown products can alter fundamental geochemical processes, potentially affecting nutrient cycling and pollutant behavior.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Both nanoplastic and iron mineral types determine their heteroaggregation: Aggregation kinetics and interface process

Researchers measured how four types of nanoplastics aggregate with iron minerals and found that surface chemistry drives the outcome — with PMMA forming the strongest heteroaggregates and carboxyl-modified particles the weakest — and that electron transfer from nanoplastics to hematite partially reduces iron, with implications for aquatic iron cycling.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and transport of nanoplastics in complex natural aquifer media: Effect of particle size and surface functionalization

Researchers used batch and column experiments in a natural sandy aquifer to show that nanoplastic transport is governed primarily by organic matter coatings rather than particle size or surface chemistry alone, with suspended organic matter increasing mobility while dissolved organic matter reduces it — findings that improve predictions of nanoplastic contamination in agricultural groundwater systems.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 186 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of microplastic-derived organic matter onto minerals

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) released from weathered microplastics was studied for its adsorption onto soil minerals, a process relevant to microplastic fate and potential contaminant transport. Microplastic-derived DOM adsorbed onto mineral surfaces, altering soil chemistry and potentially stabilizing or mobilizing other contaminants in soil-water systems.

2020 Water Research 152 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic in aqueous environments: The role of chemo-electric properties for nanoplastic-mineral interaction

Researchers studied how nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer — stick to common soil minerals underground, finding that simple electrical repulsion is less important than chemical bonding, metal ion bridging, and hydrogen bonds. Understanding these interactions is key to predicting how nanoplastics move through soil and contaminate groundwater.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Burial of microplastics in freshwater sediments facilitated by iron-organo flocs

Researchers found that iron-organo flocs in freshwater sediments facilitate the burial and long-term sequestration of microplastics by aggregating plastic particles with organic matter and iron minerals, identifying this aggregation mechanism as an important pathway controlling microplastic fate in lake sediments.

2021 Scientific Reports 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of polystyrene nanoplastics in natural soils: Effect of soil properties, ionic strength and cation type

Researchers used column experiments across three soil types to show that polystyrene nanoplastic transport is governed by soil iron and aluminum oxide content and pH — with high-pH, low-oxide soils allowing up to 97% nanoplastic passage — and that calcium ions and higher ionic strength significantly increase retention, revealing that soil chemistry strongly controls nanoplastic mobility toward groundwater.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 290 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the crucial role of iron oxide transformation in simultaneous immobilization of nanoplastics and organic matter

Researchers tracked how nanoplastics become trapped during the transformation of dissolved iron into crystalline iron oxide minerals, finding that polystyrene nanoplastics become physically encased within forming crystals while humic acid stabilizes the system, creating a durable iron oxide-nanoplastic-organic matter composite that sequesters particles in sediments.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Sediment organic carbon dominates the heteroaggregation of suspended sediment and nanoplastics in natural and surfactant-polluted aquatic environments

Researchers found that sediment organic carbon plays a dominant role in the heteroaggregation of nanoplastics with suspended sediment particles, with surfactant pollution altering aggregation dynamics and influencing the environmental transport and fate of nanoplastics in aquatic systems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation of PS microplastic with ferrihydrite leads to rapid removal of microplastic particles from the water column

Researchers investigated heteroaggregation between polystyrene microplastics and ferrihydrite iron mineral particles, finding that this aggregation process leads to rapid removal of microplastic particles from the water column, with implications for understanding microplastic fate and transport in natural water systems.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Crystallinity- dependent heteroaggregation and co-sedimentation between polystyrene nanoplastics and iron (hydro)oxides

Researchers found that the crystallinity of iron (hydro)oxide minerals strongly governs their tendency to aggregate with polystyrene nanoplastics in water — higher crystallinity produces more positive surface charges, stronger electrostatic attraction, and greater hydrogen bonding with nanoplastics, ultimately controlling how and where these combined particles settle in aquatic environments.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic adsorption characteristics of bisphenol A: The roles of pH, metal ions, and suspended sediments

Researchers found that nanoplastics adsorb bisphenol A through electrostatic, pi-pi stacking, and hydrophobic interactions, with adsorption capacity influenced by pH, competing metal ions, and suspended sediments, highlighting nanoplastics as vectors for BPA transport in aquatic environments.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Aggregation, Deposition, and Enhanced Contaminant Transport

This review examined the aggregation, deposition, and transport of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments, synthesizing how particle properties and water chemistry govern their fate and mobility in rivers, lakes, and oceans.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology 2491 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanism comparisons of transport-deposition-reentrainment between microplastics and natural mineral particles in porous media: A theoretical and experimental study

Researchers compared the transport, deposition, and re-entrainment behavior of microplastic particles versus natural mineral particles in porous media, finding key differences driven by density, surface charge, and shape that affect how microplastics migrate through soils and sediments.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 30 citations