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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Natural sunlight-driven photocatalytic degradation of polypropylene microplastics over ZnO nanorods
ClearA convenient strategy for mitigating microplastics in wastewater treatment using natural light and ZnO nanoparticles as photocatalysts: A mechanistic study
Researchers showed that zinc oxide nanoparticles can break down polypropylene microplastics using natural sunlight as an energy source. The photocatalytic process generated free radicals that attacked and degraded the plastic polymer chains. This solar-powered approach could provide a low-cost, practical method for removing microplastics from wastewater before it is discharged into the environment.
Enhanced Visible Light Photodegradation of Microplastic Fragments with Plasmonic Platinum/Zinc Oxide Nanorod Photocatalysts
Platinum/zinc oxide nanorod photocatalysts under visible light were found to significantly accelerate the photodegradation of polyethylene microplastic fragments, offering a potential approach for treating microplastic-contaminated water using sunlight-driven reactions. The plasmonic enhancement of the zinc oxide catalyst makes it more effective at the wavelengths available from natural sunlight.
Comparative Photocatalytic Performance of Gd, Zn, and Ti Metal Oxide Catalysts for Polyethylene Microplastics Removal
Photocatalysis — using light to drive chemical reactions that break down pollutants — shows real promise for degrading microplastics in water. Testing three different metal oxide catalysts, this study found that a modified zinc oxide catalyst could degrade 78% of polyethylene microplastics within two hours under visible light, outperforming both commercial catalysts and the other materials tested. The results point toward surface-engineered ZnO as a potentially practical tool for treating microplastic-contaminated water, though scaling these lab conditions to real-world water treatment remains a significant challenge.
Degradation of Microplastic Residuals in Water by Visible Light Photocatalysis
Researchers demonstrated that zinc oxide-based photocatalysts activated by visible light can degrade low-density polyethylene microplastic residues in water. This photocatalytic approach could offer an energy-efficient method for reducing microplastic contamination in aquatic environments.
Photocatalytic Degradation of Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: Materials, Mechanisms, Practical Challenges, and Future Perspectives
This review examines how light-activated materials called photocatalysts can break down microplastics in water into harmless byproducts using sunlight or UV light. While still facing challenges with incomplete breakdown and variable sunlight conditions, this technology offers a promising way to reduce microplastic contamination in water sources that affect human health.
Metal Oxides‐Based Nano/Microstructures for Photodegradation of Microplastics
This review covers how metal oxide materials, such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, can be used as photocatalysts to break down microplastics using sunlight. Some approaches can even convert plastic waste into useful fuels and chemicals. The technology offers a promising eco-friendly strategy for cleaning microplastics from water and wastewater systems.
Mechanistic vision on polypropylene microplastics degradation by solar radiation using TiO2 nanoparticle as photocatalyst
Researchers demonstrated that titanium dioxide nanoparticles acting as a photocatalyst under sunlight can degrade polypropylene microplastics in water. After 50 hours of exposure, the microplastics lost about 50% of their weight as the sunlight-activated catalyst broke down the plastic's chemical structure. The study offers a potential approach for using solar-powered photocatalysis to address microplastic contamination in aquatic environments.
Effect of Thermo-photocatalytic Process Using Zinc Oxide on Degradation of Macro/micro-plastic in Aqueous Environment
This study tested using a thermo-photocatalytic process with zinc oxide to degrade macro- and microplastics in water, finding that combined heat and UV activation significantly accelerated plastic breakdown. Advanced oxidation processes that incorporate photocatalysis could be a promising approach for removing microplastics from contaminated water.
Visible light photocatalytic degradation of microplastic residues with zinc oxide nanorods
LDPE microplastic residues were treated with zinc oxide nanorods under visible light irradiation, resulting in a 30% increase in carbonyl index and increased brittleness, demonstrating photocatalytic oxidation of the plastic surface. The study shows that ZnO nanorod photocatalysis can initiate microplastic degradation using visible light, offering a potential low-energy remediation approach.
Modified TiO2 and ZnO photocatalysts for microplastic degradation: mechanisms, challenges, and recent advances
This review examines recent advances in using modified titanium dioxide and zinc oxide photocatalysts to degrade microplastics in the environment. Researchers summarized the mechanisms by which these catalysts break down plastic particles when activated by light, as well as the challenges that remain for practical application. The study suggests that photocatalytic degradation is a promising approach for addressing microplastic pollution, though significant technical hurdles still need to be overcome.
Advanced TiO2-based catalysts for polypropylene degradation in aquatic media
Researchers developed TiO2-based catalysts enhanced with zinc and cerium oxides to degrade polypropylene microplastics in water under UV light. The best-performing catalyst achieved roughly 6-8% degradation of microplastic surface area, with slightly lower effectiveness in wastewater compared to pure water. The study demonstrates a photocatalytic approach to breaking down one of the most common microplastics found in aquatic environments.
Photocatalytic Degradation of Plastic Waste: A Mini Review
This mini review examines photocatalytic degradation as a method for breaking down plastic waste using light-activated materials that accelerate chemical reactions. Researchers found that various photocatalysts can significantly speed up plastic degradation compared to natural sunlight alone, converting plastics into smaller molecules or useful chemical products. The study highlights photocatalysis as a promising technology for addressing the growing plastic waste crisis, though challenges remain in scaling the approach.
Polypropylene microplastic degradation using ultraporous polarized hydroxyapatite and sunlight
Researchers demonstrated that ultraporous polarized hydroxyapatite combined with sunlight can degrade polypropylene microplastics, offering a photocatalytic approach that avoids energy-intensive treatment systems. The study presents a solar-driven degradation pathway using a biocompatible mineral material, with potential for both aquatic and terrestrial microplastic remediation.
Decomposition of microplastics using copper oxide/bismuth vanadate-based photocatalysts: Insight mechanisms and environmental impacts
Researchers developed a light-activated catalyst using copper oxide and bismuth vanadate that can break down microplastics in wastewater. The treatment effectively degraded the plastic surfaces, though the treated water still needed dilution before being safely discharged due to residual chemicals that were harmful to test organisms. This technology could help reduce microplastic levels in wastewater before it reaches rivers and oceans where it enters the food chain.
Photocatalysis toward Microplastics Conversion: A Critical Review
This review summarizes how photocatalysis, a process that uses sunlight and special materials to trigger chemical reactions, could potentially break down microplastics in water. While the technology is still in its early stages, it offers a promising approach to degrading the microplastics that have been detected in human blood, breast milk, and organs.
Design and Structural Modification of Advanced Biomaterials for Photocatalytic Degradation of Micro‐ and Nano‐Plastics
Researchers designed advanced biomaterials engineered to harness sunlight for breaking down micro- and nanoplastics through photocatalysis, combining nanotechnology and materials science to create eco-friendly, biodegradable particles capable of capturing and degrading plastic pollutants across diverse environmental conditions.
Sunlight-Driven Photochemical Removal of Polypropylene Microplastics from Surface Waters Follows Linear Kinetics and Does Not Result in Fragmentation
Researchers tracked what happens to small polypropylene microplastics when exposed to sunlight over extended periods. The study found that sunlight steadily breaks down the plastic into dissolved organic carbon following a predictable linear pattern, and importantly, this process did not cause the microplastics to fragment into smaller particles, suggesting photodegradation may actually reduce rather than multiply microplastic pollution at the water surface.
Degradation of Micro- and Nano-Plastics by Photocatalytic Methods
This paper reviews photocatalytic methods — using light-activated catalysts — as a way to break down micro- and nano-plastics in the environment. These approaches offer a promising path toward degrading persistent plastic particles that accumulate in marine and drinking water systems.
Photocatalytic Technologies for Transformation and Degradation of Microplastics in the Environment: Current Achievements and Future Prospects
This review examines photocatalytic technologies that use light-activated materials to break down microplastics in the environment. Various catalysts can generate reactive oxygen species that degrade plastic polymers into simpler, less harmful molecules. The authors assess the strengths and limitations of different photocatalytic approaches and highlight the need for scalable solutions that work under real-world environmental conditions.
Photocatalytic Removal of Polyester Polyurethane, and Polyethylene Microplastics via ZnO-Fe-Mg-C Nanocomposite to H2
Scientists created a zinc oxide-based nanocomposite catalyst that can break down polyester, polyurethane, and polyethylene microplastics under light, and simultaneously convert them into hydrogen gas. This dual function — destroying plastic pollution while generating a clean fuel — represents a potentially valuable approach to turning a major environmental problem into a usable energy resource.
Countering microplastics pollution with photocatalysis: Challenge and prospects
This review summarized the use of photocatalysis for degrading microplastics, covering catalyst types, reaction mechanisms, and operational parameters, and discussing challenges including the stability of highly polymerized plastics and prospects for scaling photocatalytic treatment to address environmental microplastic pollution.
Advancing photocatalytic strategies for microplastic degradation in aquatic systems: Insights into key challenges and future pathways
This review examines how light-activated chemical reactions (photocatalysis) can break down microplastics in water, using advanced materials like doped semiconductors and metal-organic frameworks. While promising for cleaning up waterways, challenges remain around scaling these methods for real-world use and ensuring the breakdown products are not themselves harmful.
Recent Advances in Microplastics Removal from Water with Special Attention Given to Photocatalytic Degradation: Review of Scientific Research
This review examines methods for removing microplastics from water, with a focus on photocatalytic degradation, which uses light-activated materials to break down plastic particles. These advanced processes generate reactive molecules that can fragment microplastics into harmless byproducts. While promising, the technology still needs optimization and more research into potential harmful byproducts before it can be widely deployed.
Synergistic dual-defect band engineering for highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of microplastics via Nb-induced oxygen vacancies in SnO2 quantum dots
Researchers engineered a new material using niobium-doped tin oxide quantum dots that can break down polyethylene microplastics in water using visible light. The material works through a photocatalytic process, meaning sunlight can power the degradation of microplastics in real-world water conditions. This technology could offer a practical way to clean microplastic-contaminated water sources.