Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

From Waste to Worth: Upcycling Plastic into High-Value Carbon-Based Nanomaterials

This study reviewed innovative methods for converting plastic waste into high-value carbon-based nanomaterials like graphene and carbon nanotubes. Researchers examined several techniques including pyrolysis, chemical vapor deposition, and flash joule heating, finding that thermal decomposition is currently the most scalable approach for industrial applications. The study suggests that turning plastic waste into advanced materials could help address pollution while also creating economically valuable products.

2024 Polymers 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Recycling waste sources into nanocomposites of graphene materials: Overview from an energy-focused perspective

Researchers reviewed how waste materials can be recycled into graphene-based nanocomposites for energy applications, contributing to a circular economy approach. The study surveyed all 120 publications in this field since the first study in 2012 and found growing interest in converting waste into useful carbon nanomaterials. The review highlights that while this waste-to-wealth approach shows promise for reducing pollution and creating valuable materials, more research is needed to control the quality of the resulting products.

2023 Nanotechnology Reviews 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Graphene-Based Nanomaterials: Uses, Environmental Fate and Human Health Hazards

Not relevant to microplastics — this review examines the physicochemical properties, environmental fate, and cytotoxicity of graphene-based nanomaterials across biomedical, agricultural, and industrial applications.

2023 Preprints.org 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Flash Graphene from Plastic Waste.

This study demonstrates a method for converting mixed plastic waste into high-quality graphene using rapid electrical heating called flash Joule heating. The process requires no catalyst, works on mixed plastic waste including landfill material, and could offer an economically viable route to reduce plastic waste while producing a valuable material.

2020 ACS nano
Article Tier 2

Instant Upcycling of Microplastics into Graphene and Its Environmental Application

Researchers demonstrated a method for converting polyethylene microplastics into graphene using atmospheric pressure microwave plasma synthesis. The study suggests this one-step upcycling approach is more energy-efficient than traditional methods and produces graphene that shows strong adsorption capacity for environmental pollutants like perfluorooctanoic acid.

2024 Small Science 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Turning plastics/microplastics into valuable resources? Current and potential research for future applications

This review summarizes existing research on ways to convert plastic and microplastic waste into useful products, including battery components, 3D printing materials, and fuels. Innovative recycling techniques like induction-heated pyrolysis show promise for more efficient plastic processing. While the focus is on recycling solutions rather than health effects, reducing the amount of plastic waste that breaks down into microplastics in the environment would lower human exposure over time.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 18 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comprehensive Review on the Thermochemical Treatment of Plastic Waste to Produce High Value Products for Different Applications

This review summarizes methods for converting plastic waste into valuable products using high-temperature chemical processes like pyrolysis and plasma technology. These approaches can produce hydrogen fuel, carbon nanotubes, and other useful materials from plastic that would otherwise become pollution. Reducing plastic waste through better recycling technology is important because most microplastic pollution originates from improperly managed plastic products.

2025 Materials Circular Economy 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Recovery of plastic waste through its thermochemical degradation: a review

This review examines pyrolysis as a promising technology for recovering valuable chemical compounds from plastic waste, which reached approximately 368 million tons of global production in 2020 alone. Researchers discuss how thermal and catalytic degradation can convert different types of thermoplastics into high-energy-value products. The study also highlights the environmental and health impacts of plastic accumulation, including the effects of microplastic consumption on human and animal health.

2023 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Technologies for Converting Mixed Plastic Waste into Biodegradable Polymers

Scientists are developing new ways to turn mixed plastic waste (like food containers and shopping bags) into biodegradable materials that naturally break down instead of polluting the environment. This research review summarizes promising techniques that could help reduce the microplastics that end up in our food and water. If these methods can be made affordable and used widely, they could significantly cut plastic pollution and the health risks it poses to humans.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Graphene quantum dot for thermoplastic nanocomposites—Scope and opportunities

Despite its title referencing graphene quantum dots for nanocomposites, this paper studies how graphene quantum dots improve the physical properties of thermoplastic polymers like polystyrene and polyurethane — not microplastic pollution. It examines nanomaterial science for engineering applications, and is not relevant to microplastics or human health.

2025 Characterization and Application of Nanomaterials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Graphene-based Nanomaterials: Uses, Environmental Fate, and Human Health Hazards

This review examines graphene-based nanomaterials, which are used in medicine, agriculture, and industry, and finds that increasing human and environmental exposure raises safety concerns. The primary way these materials damage cells is through oxidative stress, similar to the mechanism seen with nanoplastics. While focused on graphene, the toxicity pathways described overlap with those triggered by micro- and nanoplastics, offering insight into how tiny engineered particles broadly affect human health.

2024 Nano Biomedicine and Engineering 23 citations
Article Tier 2

The role and significance of graphene oxide in the remediation of micro- and nanoplastics from the environment

This review examines how graphene oxide, a carbon-based material with a very large surface area, can be used to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from water. Graphene oxide showed impressive removal capacity for polystyrene microplastics through adsorption. The technology could be an important tool for developing more effective water treatment systems that protect people from microplastic contamination.

2025 RSC Advances 6 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of the Current Research Status of Graphene for the Removal of Microplastics and Antibiotics from Water

This review assesses the potential of graphene-based materials for microplastic removal from water, evaluating adsorption mechanisms, removal efficiency across particle sizes, and scalability challenges for water treatment applications.

2024 International Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies
Review Tier 2

Recent Advances in Graphene Oxide-Based on Organoid Culture as Disease Model and Cell Behavior – A Systematic Literature Review

This review examines how graphene oxide materials can improve three-dimensional cell culture models called organoids, which mimic real organs for research purposes. While not directly about microplastics, organoid technology is increasingly being used to study how pollutants like microplastics affect human tissues. Better organoid models could help researchers more accurately assess the health risks of microplastic exposure on specific organs like the gut and liver.

2024 International Journal of Nanomedicine 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Catalytic Processes Driven by Graphene-Based Materials

This review covers how graphene-based materials can catalyze chemical reactions relevant to sustainable production and environmental protection, including degradation of pollutants in water. While not focused on microplastics directly, graphene catalysts show promise for breaking down plastic-associated chemical contaminants.

2020 Processes 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Scalable Production of Multifunctional Bio‐Based Polyamide 11/Graphene Nanocomposites by Melt Extrusion Processes Via Masterbatch Approach

Researchers developed a scalable process to make bio-based polyamide 11 plastic reinforced with graphene, improving its electrical conductivity and mechanical strength by up to 56%. This is a materials engineering study on new polymer composites, not directly related to microplastic environmental impacts.

2016 Advances in Polymer Technology 28 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on the role of nanotechnological interventions in sequestration, mitigation and value-added product conversion of micro-/nanoplastics

This review examines how nanotechnology-based approaches can be used to capture, break down, or convert microplastics and nanoplastics into useful products. The buildup of these tiny plastic particles in water environments has become a global health and environmental concern. The review highlights promising technologies that could help clean up microplastic pollution and reduce human exposure.

2024 Environmental Science Nano 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Graphene materials in pollution trace detection and environmental improvement.

This review examines how graphene oxide materials can be used to remove contaminants from water, including heavy metals and organic pollutants. While the focus is on water purification broadly, graphene-based materials may also have potential for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water supplies.

2024 Environmental research
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in ecosystems and health

This review summarizes how microplastics originate from degrading macroplastics and intentionally manufactured products, describes their impacts on marine organisms and human health, and surveys emerging recycling technologies and regulatory responses. It provides a useful plain-language synthesis of why microplastics are a dual environmental-and-health problem, acting both as physical contaminants and as vectors for toxic chemicals.

2023 ECORFAN Journal Republic of Guatemala
Article Tier 2

Structure-oriented conversions of plastics to carbon nanomaterials

This review examines strategies for converting waste plastics into carbon nanomaterials including nanotubes, graphene, and porous carbon, highlighting how different plastic structures influence the resulting carbon products and offering a promising approach to reduce plastic pollution.

2022 Carbon Research 84 citations
Article Tier 2

Technological Advances in Mechanical Recycling Innovations and Corresponding Impacts on the Circular Economy of Plastics

This review examines advances in mechanical plastic recycling, noting that microplastics and nanoplastics have been found in human organs including placentas, and traces many diseases to their presence. The study highlights that improving recycling technology is critical for reducing plastic pollution and the health risks that come with it.

2024 Environments 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid adsorption of sulfamethazine on mesoporous graphene produced from plastic waste: optimization, mechanism, isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics

Researchers converted high-density polyethylene plastic waste into mesoporous graphene via solvent-free pyrolysis and used it to rapidly adsorb sulfamethazine antibiotic from water, achieving high removal efficiency and demonstrating that plastic waste can be upcycled into valuable materials for wastewater treatment.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Graphene and nanocomposites—Imprints on environmentally sustainable production and applications based on ecological aspects

This paper is not about microplastics — it reviews sustainable and green methods for synthesizing graphene and graphene nanocomposites, emphasizing ecological carbon sources, green solvents, and non-toxic reagents.

2024 Characterization and Application of Nanomaterials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Upcycling Plastic Waste into High Value‐Added Carbonaceous Materials

This review examines methods for converting plastic waste into high-value carbonaceous materials through upcycling techniques. Researchers surveyed approaches for transforming discarded plastics into products such as carbon fibres, water purification absorbents, and energy storage electrodes. The study suggests that upcycling plastic waste into carbon-based materials offers a practical alternative to conventional disposal methods like landfilling and incineration.

2021 Macromolecular Rapid Communications 92 citations