Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Critical Impact of Colored Pigments on the Long-Term Photoaging of Polyethylene Microplastics in Coastal Seawater Environments

Researchers examined how colored pigments affect the long-term photoaging of polyethylene microplastics in coastal seawater under UV irradiation, finding that pigment type significantly alters the rate and character of surface degradation and associated contaminant release.

2025 ACS ES&T Water
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Properties Govern the Photodegradation of Sorbed Anthracene in Aquatic Environments

Researchers found that microplastic properties — including polymer type, surface chemistry, and aging state — govern the rate and pathway of solar photodegradation of sorbed anthracene in aquatic environments, with sorption to microplastics altering contaminant photochemical fate compared to free solution.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

Differential photoaging behaviors of different colored commercial polyethylene microplastics in water: The important role of color characteristics

Researchers compared the photoaging behavior of transparent and five differently colored commercial polyethylene microplastics under UV exposure. They found that transparent microplastics degraded fastest, followed by yellow and red, while blue and green were most resistant, with the pattern correlating to color wavelength, lightness, and saturation characteristics. The findings demonstrate that color plays an important and previously overlooked role in determining how quickly microplastics break down in the environment.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Response of microplastic color to photoaging and its influence on the release characteristics of derived dissolved organic matters

Researchers investigated how the color of microplastics affects their degradation under sunlight and the release of dissolved organic matter. The study found that red and yellow microplastics degraded faster due to stronger ultraviolet absorption, releasing more dissolved organic matter, and that long-term exposure to degradation byproducts from certain colored microplastics inhibited plant seed germination and antioxidant enzyme activity.

2026 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology
Article Tier 2

Influence of colourants on environmental degradation of plastic litter

A three-year outdoor experiment found that plastic color significantly affects how fast plastics break down into microplastics, with red, blue, and green colored plastics degrading much faster than black, white, and silver ones. Black and white plastics were found to resist degradation for over 45 years, while certain colored pigments allow UV light to break down the plastic, accelerating the formation of harmful microplastics.

2024 Environmental Pollution 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic PropertiesGovern the Photodegradationof Sorbed Anthracene in Aquatic Environments

Researchers investigated how microplastic properties govern the photodegradation of anthracene, a model hydrophobic organic contaminant, in aquatic environments, finding that polymer type, surface characteristics, and aging state significantly influenced degradation rates. The study highlights that microplastics can both facilitate and inhibit contaminant photodegradation depending on their physicochemical properties.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Critical Impactof Colored Pigments on the Long-TermPhotoaging of Polyethylene Microplastics in Coastal Seawater Environments

This study examined the long-term photoaging of polyethylene microplastics in coastal seawater, finding that pigment color significantly influences UV-driven surface oxidation rates and the release of additive chemicals, with darker pigments generally accelerating weathering processes.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Color: An Important but Overlooked Factor for Plastic Photoaging and Microplastic Formation

This viewpoint article argues that the color of plastic materials is an important but overlooked factor in how quickly plastics degrade and form microplastics through photoaging. The authors highlight that colored pigments and dyes can influence the rate of UV-driven plastic breakdown, which has implications for predicting microplastic formation in the environment.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 228 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics and nanoplastics colored with inorganic pigments in aquatic environments: Effects of mechanical aging on physicochemical properties, aggregation kinetics, and metal release

Researchers studied how mechanical aging affects colored polyethylene microplastics and nanoplastics containing inorganic pigments in aquatic environments. They found that plastics with certain pigments, particularly ultramarine blue, degraded faster and released more metals than transparent or iron oxide-pigmented plastics. The study reveals that pigment type significantly influences how colored plastics aggregate, break down, and release potentially harmful metals into water.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on polyethylene microplastics

Researchers investigated the photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed onto polyethylene microplastics under natural sunlight conditions, finding that PAH concentrations on microplastic surfaces decreased over time due to photodegradation. The study provides first data on the environmental fate of PAH-microplastic complexes under realistic solar irradiation.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced malachite green photolysis at the colloidal-aqueous interface

This study found that microplastic particles in water can accelerate the breakdown of certain organic pollutants at the particle surface. The research suggests that microplastics play an underappreciated role in the environmental fate of chemical contaminants.

2021 Chemosphere 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Temperature,Snow-Ice, Particle Size, andPolymer Type on Photolysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Adsorbedon Microplastics under UV Irradiation

Researchers investigated how temperature, snow-ice conditions, particle size, and polymer type affect the photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on microplastics under UV irradiation, finding that environmental variables substantially modulate PAH degradation rates on plastic surfaces.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Effect of Temperature,Snow-Ice, Particle Size, andPolymer Type on Photolysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Adsorbedon Microplastics under UV Irradiation

Researchers investigated how temperature, snow-ice conditions, particle size, and polymer type affect the photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on microplastics under UV irradiation, finding that environmental variables substantially modulate PAH degradation rates on plastic surfaces.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Effect of Temperature, Snow-Ice, Particle Size, and Polymer Type on Photolysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Adsorbed on Microplastics under UV Irradiation

Researchers investigated how temperature, snow-ice cover, particle size, and polymer type influence the photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed onto microplastics under UV irradiation, finding that these environmental variables significantly affect PAH degradation rates and pathways.

2025 ACS ES&T Water
Article Tier 2

Adsorption–desorption behavior of methylene blue onto aged polyethylene microplastics in aqueous environments

Researchers photoaged polyethylene microplastics under xenon light and measured changes in surface properties and adsorption-desorption behavior for methylene blue dye, finding that aging increased surface oxidation, enhanced dye adsorption capacity, and altered desorption kinetics compared to virgin particles.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 124 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhancement of photodegradation of polyethylene with adsorbed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under artificial sunlight irradiation

Researchers showed that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed onto polyethylene plastic act as photocatalysts that accelerate the photodegradation of the plastic in marine environments, increasing microplastic production from plastic waste contaminated with hydrophobic organic pollutants.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Surface characteristics and adsorption properties of polypropylene microplastics by ultraviolet irradiation and natural aging

This study examined how aging and UV light change the surface properties of polypropylene microplastics and their ability to absorb other pollutants. UV-aged microplastics absorbed significantly more of a common dye pollutant, while naturally aged particles absorbed less due to biological film buildup. Understanding how microplastics change over time in the environment matters because aged particles may carry different levels of harmful chemicals than fresh ones.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Studies of the Photo-transformation of Emerging Contaminants Adsorbed onto Plastic in an Aqueous Environment

This thesis investigated how light exposure transforms chemical contaminants adsorbed onto microplastics in water, examining how UV-driven photo-transformation changes the toxicity of pollutants like PCBs and PAHs attached to plastic surfaces. Understanding these transformations is important for assessing the true environmental risk of chemical-laden microplastics.

2020 Loyola eCommons (Loyola University of Chicago)
Article Tier 2

Photo-fenton oxidation of microplastics: Impact of polymer nature

Researchers investigated photo-Fenton oxidation as a treatment for microplastics, finding that degradation efficiency varies significantly by polymer type. Polymers with aromatic structures and those with greater oxidative susceptibility degraded more rapidly under photo-Fenton conditions.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Effect of polyethylene microplastic biodegradation by algae on their sorption properties and toxicity

Researchers studied how algal biodegradation of high-density polyethylene microplastics changes their ability to adsorb UV filter chemicals. The study found that biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces altered their sorption properties through multiple mechanisms, and that high concentrations of these microplastics inhibited algal growth and reduced protein and chlorophyll levels.

2024 Chemosphere 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behaviors of microplastics from packaging materials subjected to ultraviolet irradiation and microbial colonization

Researchers studied how UV irradiation and microbial colonization alter the surface properties of microplastics from discarded packaging materials and their ability to adsorb pollutants. They found that aging processes changed surface chemistry and hydrophilicity, affecting how microplastics interact with contaminants like crystal violet dye through hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction, and hydrophobic interactions.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of UV wavelength variations on tetracycline adsorption by polyethylene microplastics in aquatic environments

Exposure to UVC, UVB, and UVA light at different wavelengths differentially altered the surface chemistry of polyethylene microplastics and their subsequent adsorption capacity for the antibiotic tetracycline. Shorter UV wavelengths caused more extensive surface oxidation, increasing tetracycline adsorption by up to several fold and changing the antibiotic's environmental fate.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Simulated experimental investigation of microplastic weathering in marine environment

Researchers simulated microplastic weathering under marine conditions, finding that exposure to UV light, saltwater, and mechanical abrasion progressively degraded plastic surfaces, increased surface roughness, and enhanced the adsorption capacity of contaminants onto microplastic particles.

2022 Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Change in adsorption behavior of aquatic humic substances on microplastic through biotic and abiotic aging processes

Researchers found that both UV irradiation and microbial aging of polyethylene microplastics significantly altered their surface chemistry, changing how aquatic humic substances adsorb onto the plastic surface and highlighting the importance of weathering state in assessing microplastic-contaminant interactions.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations