Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of low-molecular-weight organic acids on the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics: An insight at the structure of organic acids

Researchers examined how seven common soil organic acids affect nanoplastic movement through sand, finding that dibasic acids (with multiple acid groups) significantly enhance transport by making particle surfaces more negatively charged and hydrophilic, while most monobasic acids have little effect — with implications for predicting nanoplastic migration in agricultural soils.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Low-Molecular-Weight Organic Acids on the Transport of Polystyrene Nanoplastics in Saturated Goethite-Coated Sand Columns

This study examined how low-molecular-weight organic acids — common root exudates in soil — affect the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics through porous media. Organic acids altered nanoplastic surface charge and aggregation state, significantly changing how far particles could migrate through soil.

2024 Water 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of nanoplastics in saturated porous media: Synergy of particle size, surface functional groups, and low molecular weight organic acids

Researchers systematically tested how particle size and surface functional groups interact with low-molecular-weight organic acids to control nanoplastic mobility through saturated sand columns, finding that carboxyl-coated particles became less mobile as size increased while amine-coated particles became more mobile, with citric acid providing stronger steric hindrance than lactic acid.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Effect of low-molecular-weight organic acids on the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics in saturated porous media

Researchers studied how low-molecular-weight organic acids (common in soil and groundwater) affect the movement of polystyrene nanoplastics through saturated porous media, finding that low concentrations promote transport while high concentrations increase particle deposition, with the effect scaling with the number of functional groups on the organic acid.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of polystyrene nanoplastics with different functional groups in goethite-coated saturated porous media: Effects of low molecular weight organic acids and physicochemical properties

Researchers studied how low-molecular-weight organic acids affect the migration of surface-functionalized nanoplastics through iron oxide-coated versus plain quartz sand, finding that the acids can shift iron valence states on goethite surfaces at low pH, altering electrostatic interactions in ways that either promote or inhibit nanoplastic transport depending on the media type.

2023 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Concentration, Surface Charge, and Natural Water Components on the Transport and Adsorption of Polystyrene Nanoplastics in Sand Columns

Laboratory column experiments showed that nanoplastics made of polystyrene behave very differently in groundwater depending on their surface charge — positively charged particles were retained much more readily in sand than negatively charged ones, and the presence of natural organic matter in real lake water reduced the retention of both types. These findings matter for understanding whether nanoplastics released into the environment will travel through soil and reach drinking water sources, which depends critically on the plastic's surface chemistry.

2024 Nanomaterials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of natural organic matters on fate of polystyrene nanoplastics in porous media

Researchers investigated how natural organic matter (NOM) affects the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics through porous media, finding that NOM facilitates nanoplastic movement by increasing energy barriers, while metal ions reduce transport by promoting nanoplastic aggregation.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of polystyrene nanoplastics in porous media: Combined effects of two co-existing substances

Researchers studied how cationic and anionic surfactants interact with natural organic matter (humic acid and sodium alginate) to control polystyrene nanoplastic transport through porous media, finding that the dominant mobility mechanism switched from electrostatic (with cationic surfactants) to hydrophobic (with anionic surfactants), with organic matter amplifying each surfactant's effect.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Decreased transport of nano- and micro-plastics in the presence of low-molecular-weight organic acids in saturated quartz sand.

Laboratory experiments showed that common organic acids found in soil — citric, malic, and tartaric acid — significantly reduced the movement of polystyrene nano- and microplastics through saturated sand. This finding suggests that soil organic chemistry influences how microplastics migrate toward groundwater, which has implications for drinking water contamination in agricultural areas.

2024 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

Role of surface functionalities of nanoplastics on their transport in seawater-saturated sea sand

Researchers examined the transport of surface-functionalized nanoplastics through seawater-saturated sea sand, finding that carboxyl-functionalized particles had the highest mobility while positively charged amino-functionalized particles showed lowest recovery due to stronger attraction to sand surfaces and homoaggregation.

2019 Environmental Pollution 134 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of size and surface charge on the sedimentation of nanoplastics in freshwater

Researchers investigated how size and surface charge of polystyrene nanoplastics affect their sedimentation behavior in freshwater, finding that both properties significantly influence aggregation dynamics and settling rates, with implications for predicting nanoplastic fate in aquatic environments.

2023 Chemosphere 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation and Deposition Kinetics of Polystyrene Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environment

Researchers measured aggregation and deposition kinetics of 50 nm and 500 nm polystyrene particles under varying ionic strength and pH conditions, finding that both particle sizes aggregated rapidly at elevated salt concentrations and that the smaller nanoplastics were more mobile in column experiments.

2021 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Dissolved Organic Matters and Microplastics Regulates the Transport of Microplastics in Saturated Porous Media

Researchers studied how different types of dissolved organic matter affect the transport of polystyrene microplastics through saturated porous media. The study found that humic acid, bovine serum albumin, and sodium alginate all promoted microplastic mobility, with humic acid having the strongest effect due to electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance mechanisms.

2024 ACS ES&T Engineering 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-transport of polystyrene microplastics and kaolinite colloids in goethite-coated quartz sand: Joint effects of heteropolymerization and surface charge modification

Column experiments showed that kaolinite colloids enhanced polystyrene microplastic transport through quartz sand but had more complex effects in goethite-coated sand, where the promotion depended strongly on ionic strength conditions due to heteropolymerization and surface charge modification.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating transport kinetics of polystyrene nanoplastics in saturated porous media

Researchers investigated how ionic strength, pH, and organic matter influence the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics through saturated porous media using column experiments and DLVO modeling, finding that increasing sodium ion concentrations promote nanoplastic aggregation and reduce mobility in soil and groundwater systems.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of eco-corona coated nanoplastics in coastal sediments

Researchers investigated how different surface properties and eco-corona coatings affect the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics through coastal marine sediments. They found that negatively charged particles moved more easily through sediment than positively charged ones, while strong aggregation essentially immobilized unmodified particles. The formation of natural organic coatings on nanoplastics had opposing effects depending on surface charge, sometimes enhancing and sometimes inhibiting transport.

2025 Water Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

The transport of polystyrene microplastics in saturated porous media: Impacts of functional groups and solution chemistry

Researchers studied how surface chemistry and water conditions affect the movement of polystyrene microplastics through sand, comparing unmodified particles with those carrying carboxyl or amino groups that mimic natural aging. They found that factors like water acidity, salt concentration, and the type of chemical groups on the plastic surface all significantly influenced how far the particles traveled. The study provides important insights into how weathered microplastics may spread through soil and groundwater differently than fresh particles.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of water chemistry on surface charge and aggregation of polystyrene microspheres suspensions

Researchers investigated how water chemistry factors such as pH, salt concentration, and humic acid affect the surface charge and aggregation behavior of polystyrene microspheres in aqueous solutions. The study found that higher ionic strength and lower pH promoted aggregation, while humic acid stabilized the particles, suggesting that water chemistry strongly influences the environmental fate and transport of microplastics.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 230 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation kinetics of different surface-modified polystyrene nanoparticles in monovalent and divalent electrolytes

Researchers investigated how surface chemistry and morphology affect the clumping behavior (aggregation kinetics) of polystyrene nanoplastics in water, finding that surface charge and functional groups strongly govern stability, while dissolved organic matter can either inhibit or promote aggregation depending on concentration and whether mono- or divalent ions are present.

2019 Environmental Pollution 143 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation, disaggregation, and migration of nanoplastics with nanosized activated carbon in aquatic environments: Effects of particle property, water chemistry, and hydrodynamic condition

Researchers studied how nanosized activated carbon interacts with positively and negatively charged nanoplastics under various water chemistry and hydrodynamic conditions. They found that aggregation behavior depended strongly on particle charge, pH, and the presence of natural organic matter like humic acid. The study suggests that interactions with engineered nanomaterials in aquatic environments can significantly influence how far nanoplastics travel, with implications for predicting their environmental fate.

2024 Water Research 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of salinity and humic acid on the aggregation and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics with different functional groups and charges

Researchers showed that surface charge governs nanoplastic behavior in water — higher salinity caused negatively charged nanoplastics to aggregate while positively charged particles remained stable — and that humic acid (dissolved organic matter) alleviated toxicity to Daphnia, increasing survival from 15% to nearly 100% in some cases.

2018 Environmental Pollution 289 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of ionic strength and particle size on transport of microplastic and humic acid in porous media

Column transport experiments tested how ionic strength and humic acid concentration influence the co-transport of colloidal polystyrene microplastics through saturated porous media. Humic acid increased microplastic mobility at low concentrations but the effect was reversed at high ionic strength due to charge screening, demonstrating complex interactions between environmental matrix chemistry and microplastic transport.

2022 Chemosphere 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of environmental and biological macromolecules on aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in aquatic systems

Researchers studied how natural macromolecules like humic acid, alginate, and proteins influence the clumping behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics in water. They found that these macromolecules generally stabilized nanoplastics in sodium chloride solutions but caused them to aggregate in calcium chloride solutions, with effects varying by pH. The findings suggest that the environmental fate and transport of nanoplastics in natural waters depends heavily on the surrounding organic molecules and water chemistry.

2020 Water Research 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Cotransport of naphthalene with polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNP) in saturated porous media: Effects of PSNP/naphthalene ratio and ionic strength

Researchers examined the cotransport of naphthalene with polystyrene nanoplastics in saturated sand columns and found that varying the nanoplastic-to-naphthalene ratio and ionic strength significantly influenced the mobility of both contaminants, confirming nanoplastics as effective carriers of hydrophobic organic pollutants in porous media.

2019 Chemosphere 70 citations