Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Efficiency of Hybrid Materials for Photocatalytic Degradation of Micro‐ and Nano‐Plastics

Researchers reviewed how hybrid materials — combinations of multiple substances engineered at the nanoscale — can serve as highly effective photocatalysts to break down microplastics and nanoplastics using light energy. These multi-functional materials improve electron separation and reaction efficiency compared to single-component catalysts, representing a promising technological pathway for removing persistent plastic particles from the environment.

2025
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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Catalyst Design and Engineering for Enhanced Microplastic Degradation and Upcycling—A Review

This review examined current approaches to microplastic degradation and upcycling, covering photocatalysis, biodegradation, and chemical conversion technologies. The authors identified key challenges in catalyst design and engineering needed to achieve efficient breakdown of microplastics at scale.

2025 Catalysts
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

Photodegradation of Microplastics through Nanomaterials: Insights into Photocatalysts Modification and Detailed Mechanisms

This review examines how specially designed nanomaterials can break down microplastics in water using light-driven chemical reactions. While not directly about human health, improving microplastic removal from water sources could reduce the amount of tiny plastic particles that ultimately end up in drinking water and the food chain.

2024 Materials 28 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

Nanomaterials for Advanced Photocatalytic Plastic Conversion

This review examines the use of nanomaterials for photocatalytic conversion of waste plastics into useful chemicals and fuels, highlighting approaches that use sunlight as an energy source under ambient conditions. Photocatalytic upcycling of plastic waste offers a potentially sustainable alternative to conventional thermal and chemical recycling methods.

2023 Molecules 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Metal–Organic Framework based on Functional Materials for Photocatalytic Degradation of Micro‐ and Nano‐Plastic

Researchers reviewed how metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — highly porous crystalline materials with extremely large surface areas — can be used as light-activated catalysts to break down microplastics and nanoplastics in water, potentially converting these persistent pollutants into less harmful chemicals while generating clean energy as a byproduct.

2025
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 29 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 Degradation and Remediation of Microplastics

This review chapter examines photocatalysis as a remediation strategy for microplastic pollution in aquatic and terrestrial environments, describing how solar energy conversion drives chemical reactions that degrade plastic particles. The authors assess the current state of photocatalytic methods, their mechanisms, and their potential for sustainable microplastic removal.

2024 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Systemically Understanding Aqueous Photocatalytic Upgrading of Microplastic to Fuels

This review examines photocatalytic methods for converting microplastic waste into renewable fuels using solar energy. These approaches could transform plastic pollutants into useful energy sources rather than allowing them to accumulate in the environment and food chain.

2023 Solar RRL
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