Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Investigate the influence of microplastics weathering on their heavy metals uptake in stormwater

Researchers examined how weathering of polyethylene and PET microplastics affects their ability to absorb heavy metals like lead and zinc from stormwater. They found that weathered microplastics had significantly rougher surfaces and altered chemistry, which increased their uptake of heavy metals compared to pristine particles. The study suggests that aged microplastics in urban stormwater systems may accumulate and transport higher concentrations of toxic metals into waterways.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 131 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on the Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environment before and after the Aging of Typical Microplastics

Researchers investigated the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of heavy metals by typical microplastics before and after environmental aging, finding that aging significantly alters microplastics' surface properties and capacity to bind metals such as cadmium and lead in aquatic systems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Effects of particle size and aging on heavy metal adsorption by polypropylene and polystyrene microplastics under varying environmental conditions

This study found that smaller and weathered microplastics absorb significantly more lead and copper from water than larger or newer particles. Since microplastics in the real world are constantly aging and breaking into smaller pieces, they may become increasingly effective at concentrating toxic metals that can then enter the food chain and potentially affect human health.

2024 Chemosphere 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Pb(II) by UV-aged microplastics and cotransport in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media

Researchers found that microplastics aged by UV sunlight are better at absorbing and carrying lead (a toxic heavy metal) through soil and water than fresh microplastics. The aging process changes the microplastic surface in ways that make it grab onto more lead, potentially spreading this toxic metal further through the environment. This is relevant to human health because aged microplastics in the real world may be transporting more heavy metals into water supplies and food-growing soil than previously thought.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 46 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effects of Aging on the Cd Adsorption by Microplastics and the Relevant Mechanisms].

This study examined how aging affects the ability of microplastics — including polyethylene and polystyrene — to adsorb the heavy metal cadmium. Weathered microplastics showed different adsorption behavior than virgin particles, which has implications for how microplastics transport toxic metals through aquatic environments.

2022 PubMed 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of the adsorption behavior of Pb(II) onto natural-aged microplastics as affected by salt ions

Researchers found that naturally aged microplastics adsorb significantly more lead than virgin microplastics, and that calcium chloride in solution strongly inhibits lead adsorption, indicating that environmental weathering and water chemistry alter contaminant transport.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 182 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanism analysis of heavy metal lead captured by natural-aged microplastics

The mechanism by which naturally aged microplastics capture lead (Pb(II)) from aqueous solution was investigated by comparing pristine and aged particles. Aged microplastics adsorbed more Pb(II) than pristine ones, with weathering-induced surface oxidation and increased oxygen-containing functional groups driving the enhanced metal capture capacity.

2020 Chemosphere 242 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

How aging microplastics influence heavy metal environmental fate and bioavailability: A systematic review

This systematic review found that environmental aging (UV, weathering) degrades microplastics into smaller particles with higher surface reactivity, increasing their capacity to adsorb heavy metals. These aged microplastic-heavy metal complexes bioaccumulate through the food chain, posing greater ecological and human health risks than either pollutant alone.

2025 Environmental Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative analysis of kinetics and mechanisms for Pb(II) sorption onto three kinds of microplastics

The sorption kinetics and mechanisms of lead (Pb(II)) onto three types of microplastics were compared to understand how plastic debris concentrates heavy metals in aquatic environments. The study found polymer-specific differences in sorption capacity and mechanism, with implications for how microplastics alter the distribution and bioavailability of lead in contaminated water.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 158 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between microplastics and contaminants: A review focusing on the effect of aging process

This review explains how aging and weathering change microplastics in ways that make them interact differently with environmental pollutants like heavy metals and pesticides. Aged microplastics tend to absorb more contaminants than fresh ones, and they can also release those pollutants under certain conditions. This is important for human health because the microplastics we encounter in food and water are typically weathered, meaning they may carry higher loads of toxic substances than laboratory studies suggest.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of lead(II) onto PE microplastics as a function of particle size: Influencing factors and adsorption mechanism

Researchers studied how lead ions attach to polyethylene microplastics of different sizes in water. They found that smaller microplastic particles had greater capacity to adsorb lead, primarily through chemical bonding mechanisms like hydrogen bonding and surface complexation. The findings suggest that microplastics in the environment can act as carriers for toxic heavy metals, with smaller particles posing a greater risk.

2022 Chemosphere 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Pb(II) with microplastic-sediment complexes: Critical effect of surfactant

Researchers investigated how surfactants affect the ability of microplastic-sediment complexes to adsorb lead (Pb) in river environments. The study found that surfactants significantly altered adsorption behavior, with anionic surfactants increasing lead uptake while nonionic surfactants decreased it, suggesting that surfactant presence in polluted waters can change how heavy metals interact with microplastics in sediments.

2024 Environmental Pollution 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Partitioning of heavy metals in sediments and microplastics from stormwater runoff

Researchers studied how heavy metals distribute between sediment particles and microplastics in stormwater runoff. UV-weathered microplastics absorbed significantly more heavy metals than new plastic, competing with sediments for metal uptake. This matters because microplastics in stormwater can transport concentrated heavy metals from urban areas into rivers and lakes, creating a combined pollution problem.

2023 Chemosphere 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics inhibit lead binding to sediment components: Influence of surface functional groups and charge environment

Researchers systematically investigated interactions among lead, polystyrene microplastics, and sediment components to understand how microplastics affect heavy metal behavior in aquatic environments. The study found that polystyrene significantly inhibited lead adsorption to sediment by competing for binding sites, reducing lead uptake by up to 28%, which suggests that microplastics could increase the mobility of toxic metals in contaminated waterways.

2025 Water Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Studying the combined influence of microplastics’ intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics on their weathering behavior and heavy metal transport in storm runoff

Researchers found that the weathering behavior and heavy metal uptake of microplastics in stormwater depended on both intrinsic polymer properties — such as crystallinity — and extrinsic surface conditions like oxidation and sediment attachment, with secondary microplastics showing greater lead and zinc adsorption than primary microplastics.

2022 Environmental Pollution 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Polymer Aging on Uptake/Release Kinetics of Metal Ions and Organic Molecules by Micro- and Nanoplastics: Implications for the Bioavailability of the Associated Compounds

Researchers developed a theoretical framework to describe how aging and degradation of plastic particles in the environment changes their ability to absorb and release metals and organic contaminants. They found that as plastics weather and break down, their capacity to pick up and later release pollutants increases significantly. The study suggests that the age and condition of microplastics are important factors in determining how much contamination they carry and deliver to living organisms.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Pb(II) uptake onto nylon microplastics: Interaction mechanism and adsorption performance

Researchers investigated how aged nylon microplastics adsorb lead(II) ions from water, finding that surface weathering increased adsorption capacity and that the process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The study clarifies the mechanism by which microplastics can act as vectors for heavy metal contamination in aquatic environments.

2019 Journal of Hazardous Materials 427 citations
Article Tier 2

The evolving interface of aged microplastics and heavy metals: implications for environmental fate and toxicity

This review examined how microplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment, focusing on how plastics serve as carriers that increase metal mobility and bioavailability. Researchers found that factors like polymer aging, biofilm formation, and water chemistry significantly affect how efficiently microplastics absorb metals, and that the combined exposure creates compounded toxicity including oxidative stress and organ damage in organisms. The findings highlight the need for more research on the long-term and multigenerational effects of these combined pollutants.

2026 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparison of lead adsorption on the aged conventional microplastics, biodegradable microplastics and environmentally-relevant tire wear particles

Researchers compared how different types of aged microplastics, including tire wear particles and biodegradable polylactic acid, adsorb the heavy metal lead from water. The study found that aging significantly increased adsorption capacity across all types, with tire wear particles showing the highest lead uptake, and that environmental factors like humic acid concentration had complex effects on the adsorption process.

2023 Chemical Engineering Journal 123 citations
Article Tier 2

Unfolding the interaction between microplastics and (trace) elements in water: A critical review

This review critically examined the interaction between microplastics and trace elements in water, highlighting that plastic aging from mechanical, UV, and biological degradation is a pivotal factor determining the unexpectedly high affinity of environmental plastics for metal ions.

2021 Water Research 120 citations
Article Tier 2

An environmental concentration of aged microplastics with adsorbed silver significantly affects aquatic organisms

Researchers studied how natural biofouling and aging in stream water changes the properties and toxicity of microplastic beads over four weeks. They found that aged microplastics absorbed significantly more silver than pristine ones and released it more intensely, especially in acidic conditions. The study suggests that as microplastics age in the environment, they become more effective at carrying and releasing pollutants, increasing their potential harm to aquatic organisms.

2020 Water Research 311 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastic aging on the adsorption and desorption behavior of Ni(II) under various aging conditions

This study examined how aging processes like freezing, wetting, and chemical exposure change the ability of microplastics to pick up and release the heavy metal nickel. Aged microplastics absorbed more nickel than fresh ones, which matters because weathered plastics in the environment may carry higher loads of toxic metals that could eventually enter the food chain and affect human health.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging properties of polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics and their adsorption behavior of Cd(II) and Cr(VI) in aquatic environments

Researchers compared how polyethylene and polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics age in the environment and how that aging affects their ability to absorb heavy metals like cadmium and chromium from water. They found that aging changed the surface chemistry of both plastic types, increasing their capacity to pick up these toxic metals. The findings matter because aged microplastics in the environment may concentrate and transport more pollutants than fresh plastic particles.

2024 Chemosphere 28 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of UV exposure on conventional and degradable microplastics adsorption for Pb (II) in sediment

Researchers studied how UV aging affects the ability of conventional polyethylene and degradable polylactic acid microplastics to adsorb lead ions from aquatic sediment. They found that UV aging increased the surface area and oxygen content of both plastic types, enhancing their capacity to adsorb heavy metals. The study suggests that weathered microplastics in the environment may be more effective carriers of heavy metal contamination than pristine particles.

2021 Chemosphere 84 citations