Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Catalysts 51 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025
Article Tier 2

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.

2017 Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Applications 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Photocatalytic Perception for Degradation of Macro- and Micro-plastics

This review examines photocatalytic approaches for degrading both macro- and micro-plastics, surveying semiconductor-based and other photocatalytic systems capable of breaking down persistent plastic polymers in aquatic and terrestrial environments. The paper evaluates the mechanisms, efficiency, and scalability of photocatalysis as a remediation technology alongside conventional plastic waste management strategies.

2024 ACS symposium series 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated photothermal and photocatalytic degradation of micro-/nanoplastics: a mini-review with mechanistic insights and future perspectives

This mini-review examines how combined photothermal and photocatalytic technologies can be used to break down micro- and nanoplastics in the environment. Researchers describe how these approaches use light energy to generate heat and reactive chemical species that degrade plastic particles. The study outlines the underlying mechanisms and discusses future directions for making these treatment methods practical at larger scales.

2025 Journal of Materials Chemistry A 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Photocatalytic strategy to mitigate microplastic pollution in aquatic environments: Promising catalysts, efficiencies, mechanisms, and ecological risks

This review summarizes recent advances in photocatalytic degradation of microplastics, covering catalysts, mechanisms, and reactive oxygen species generation pathways. The authors call for more realistic photocatalytic materials, better mechanistic understanding of degradation intermediates, and quantitative ecological risk assessment of photocatalysis byproducts.

2022 Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Porphyrin-Conjugated Hybrid Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Wastewater Remediation

Researchers reviewed the use of porphyrin-conjugated hybrid nanomaterials for photocatalytic wastewater treatment, including the degradation of microplastics. The study found that these materials show strong visible-light absorption and enhanced electron properties that make them effective at breaking down hazardous pollutants, offering a promising approach for environmental remediation.

2026 Applied Sciences
Article Tier 2

Application of Nanomaterials in the Degradation of Micro and Nano Plastics

This review examined the application of nanomaterials for degrading micro- and nanoplastics, covering photocatalytic, oxidative, and biological nanomaterial approaches and evaluating their efficiency and scalability for plastic pollution remediation.

2024 BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS eBooks
Article Tier 2

Photodegradation of microplastics through nanomaterials: Insights into photocatalysts modification and detailed mechanisms

This review explores how nanomaterial-enhanced photocatalysts can break down microplastics that conventional water treatment fails to remove. The paper details key strategies like element doping and heterojunction construction that improve degradation efficiency, and explains the underlying mechanisms involving free radical formation and singlet oxygen oxidation.

2024 Preprints.org 8 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Water 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Nanotechnology in Plastic and Microplastic Management

This review examines how nanotechnology can enhance plastic and microplastic degradation, describing how nanomaterials can modify microbial metabolic pathways to improve biodegradation rates and how photocatalytic approaches can break down plastics into low-molecular-weight intermediates suitable for use as chemical feedstocks.

2025
Article Tier 2

State of the art in the photochemical degradation of (micro)plastics: from fundamental principles to catalysts and applications

This review summarizes research on the photochemical degradation of plastics and microplastics into value-added products and intermediates via photocatalysis. The study covers fundamental principles and catalytic approaches for breaking down plastic pollutants that are otherwise difficult to degrade in the environment.

2023 Journal of Materials Chemistry A 94 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Progress in Natural Science Materials International 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Integration of Photocatalysis and Membrane Technology as a Hybrid System for Microplastic Degradation in Wastewater

Researchers evaluated a hybrid system combining TiO2 photocatalysis with membrane filtration for degrading microplastics in wastewater. The photocatalytic membrane reactor demonstrated effective removal and degradation of polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET microplastics, suggesting that integrated photocatalytic-membrane systems could improve microplastic removal beyond what conventional wastewater treatment achieves.

2026 Science Get Journal.
Article Tier 2

Photocatalytic and biological technologies for elimination of microplastics in water: Current status

This review examines emerging photocatalytic and biological technologies for breaking down microplastics in water, since conventional treatment facilities can capture but not fully destroy these particles. Researchers found that while photocatalysis and microbial degradation show promise, their effectiveness varies widely and the underlying mechanisms are only partly understood. The study highlights the urgent need for more efficient solutions to eliminate rather than simply filter out microplastic pollution from water supplies.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 137 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro‐ and Nano‐Plastic Pollution

Researchers review the growing global threat of micro- and nanoplastics — plastic particles ranging from 0.1mm down to 100 nanometers — exploring how they bind to toxic chemicals as they travel through the environment and how emerging photocatalytic technologies using sunlight could offer sustainable new ways to break them down.

2025
Article Tier 2

Nano‐ and Microplastics Degradation Using Defect‐engineered Photocatalytic Feedstocks

Researchers reviewed the emerging use of specially engineered photocatalytic materials — materials that use light to break down pollutants — for degrading nano- and microplastics in wastewater and soil. By introducing structural defects into these materials, scientists can increase their reactivity and efficiency, offering a promising but still-developing tool for tackling the growing microplastic contamination crisis.

2026
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Microplastics 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced synergistic remediation of diverse plastic pollutants using nano-enabled biocatalysts

This review examines advanced synergistic remediation strategies using nano-enabled technologies to address diverse plastic pollutants, covering photocatalytic, enzymatic, and combined approaches that can simultaneously degrade multiple polymer types in contaminated water and soil.

2025 International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Article Tier 2

Light-driven degradation of microplastics: Mechanisms, technologies, and future directions

This review examines photocatalytic technologies for breaking down microplastics using light-driven chemical processes. Researchers found that photocatalysts can potentially mineralize microplastics into carbon dioxide and water, with some approaches also enabling recovery of useful chemical products. The study highlights light-driven degradation as a promising direction for microplastic remediation, though challenges around efficiency and scalability remain to be addressed.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 6 citations