Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Construction of Novel Z-scheme Heterojunction in ZnFe2O4/P25 @ MOF-5 Nanocomposite from Plastic Waste for Efficient Photodegradation of Aqueous BTX Under Visible Light

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper synthesizes a novel MOF-5 based photocatalyst from plastic waste to degrade benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) compounds from wastewater using visible light photocatalysis.

2023 Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Preparation of S-C3N4/AgCdS Z-Scheme Heterojunction Photocatalyst and Its Effectively Improved Photocatalytic Performance

This paper is not about microplastics. It describes the development of a photocatalyst material (S-doped carbon nitride with silver-doped cadmium sulfide) designed to degrade organic dyes like Rhodamine B and methyl orange. While photocatalytic technology could theoretically be applied to plastic degradation, this study focuses entirely on dye removal chemistry with no connection to microplastic contamination or health effects.

2024 Molecules 5 citations
Article Tier 2

A Magnetic Photocatalytic Composite Derived from Waste Rice Noodle and Red Mud

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research; it describes the synthesis of a magnetic photocatalytic composite from waste rice noodles and red mud for degrading organic dye pollutants in wastewater, with no connection to plastic particles.

2024 Nanomaterials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Photodegradation of microplastics through nanomaterials: Insights into photocatalysts modification and detailed mechanisms

This review explores how nanomaterial-enhanced photocatalysts can break down microplastics that conventional water treatment fails to remove. The paper details key strategies like element doping and heterojunction construction that improve degradation efficiency, and explains the underlying mechanisms involving free radical formation and singlet oxygen oxidation.

2024 Preprints.org 8 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

Photocatalytic Degradation of Plastic Waste: Recent Progress and Future Perspectives

This review examined photocatalytic degradation as an environmentally friendly approach to destroying microplastic waste, focusing on nanomaterial-based semiconductors such as TiO2 and ZnO. The review highlighted recent progress and remaining challenges in developing efficient photocatalytic systems capable of fully mineralizing persistent plastic pollutants.

2024 Advances in Nanoparticles 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Modified TiO2 and ZnO photocatalysts for microplastic degradation: mechanisms, challenges, and recent advances

This review examines recent advances in using modified titanium dioxide and zinc oxide photocatalysts to degrade microplastics in the environment. Researchers summarized the mechanisms by which these catalysts break down plastic particles when activated by light, as well as the challenges that remain for practical application. The study suggests that photocatalytic degradation is a promising approach for addressing microplastic pollution, though significant technical hurdles still need to be overcome.

2026 Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences
Article Tier 2

Harnessing Bio-Immobilized ZnO/CNT/Chitosan Ternary Composite Fabric for Enhanced Photodegradation of a Commercial Reactive Dye

This paper is not about microplastics; it describes the fabrication and testing of a ZnO/carbon nanotube/chitosan composite fabric as a photocatalyst for degrading textile dye (Reactive Blue 4) in wastewater, with no connection to microplastic research.

2023 Molecules 9 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

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

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
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
Review Tier 2

A Review on the Use of Metal Oxide-Based Nanocomposites for the Remediation of Organics-Contaminated Water via Photocatalysis: Fundamentals, Bibliometric Study and Recent Advances

This review examines how metal oxide nanocomposite materials can be used as photocatalysts to break down toxic organic pollutants in contaminated water using light energy. While focused on cleaning up dyes, drugs, and pesticides, the technology is relevant to microplastics because similar photocatalytic approaches are being explored to degrade plastic particles in water. Improving water treatment technologies like these could help reduce human exposure to the cocktail of pollutants, including microplastics, found in water supplies.

2023 Toxics 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient photocatalytic degradation of microplastics by constructing a novel Z-scheme Fe-doped BiO2−x/BiOI heterojunction with full-spectrum response: Mechanistic insights and theory calculations

Researchers developed a new photocatalyst that can break down PET microplastics in water using the full spectrum of light, including visible light. The iron-doped material created deep cracks in PET plastic within just 10 hours of light exposure. This technology could eventually help remove microplastics from water treatment systems, reducing the amount that reaches drinking water.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 54 citations
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

Recent Progress in WO3-Based Photo(electro)-Catalysis Systems for Green Organic Synthesis and Wastewater Remediation: A Review

A review of WO3-based photocatalysts for breaking down organic pollutants in water assessed recent advances in their synthesis, performance, and stability. These materials are relevant to microplastic research as part of the broader toolkit for advanced water treatment targeting plastic-derived chemical contaminants.

2025 Catalysts 1 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

Metal Oxides‐Based Nano/Microstructures for Photodegradation of Microplastics

This review covers how metal oxide materials, such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, can be used as photocatalysts to break down microplastics using sunlight. Some approaches can even convert plastic waste into useful fuels and chemicals. The technology offers a promising eco-friendly strategy for cleaning microplastics from water and wastewater systems.

2023 Advanced Sustainable Systems 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of metal-organic frameworks for photocatalytic degradation of microplastics: Design, challenges, and scope

This review examines how metal-organic frameworks can be designed and applied for photocatalytic degradation of microplastics in wastewater, addressing the challenge of microplastic hydrophobicity and their resistance to conventional treatment. The authors discuss design strategies, current performance limitations, and future directions for scaling photocatalytic MOF technology to practical remediation applications.

2024 Chemosphere 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Design of tertiary Z-scheme CuO–ZnO@MXene photocatalyst with superior visible-light activity for decomposition of nanoplastics

A ternary CuO-ZnO@MXene photocatalyst with a Z-scheme charge transfer pathway was designed for enhanced degradation of organic pollutants in water. The material's architecture improves light absorption and charge separation, making it a candidate for treating microplastic-contaminated wastewater.

2025 Journal of Water Process Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Ultrasound-Assisted and Citric Acid-Guided Creation of ZnO Nanoparticles with Optimized Morphologies to Boost Malachite Green Photocatalysis

Despite its title referencing environmental remediation, this paper studies the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles for degrading malachite green dye under simulated sunlight — not microplastic pollution. It examines photocatalysis chemistry for breaking down a persistent textile dye and is not relevant to microplastics or human health.

2025 Molecules 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic Photocatalysis by α-MoO3 Nanostructures and SWCNT Nanocomposites for Efficient Cross-Linking and Oxidative Degradation of Polystyrene Nanoplastics

This study developed alpha-MoO3 nanostructures combined with single-walled carbon nanotube nanocomposites as synergistic photocatalysts, demonstrating enhanced degradation of organic pollutants under visible light with potential for plastic-associated contaminant treatment.

2024 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Bi‐based photocatalysts for light‐driven environmental and energy applications: Structural tuning, reaction mechanisms, and challenges

This review examines bismuth-based photocatalysts that use visible light to break down environmental pollutants and convert energy. Researchers summarized various structural modification strategies that improve the photocatalytic performance of these materials. The findings are relevant to microplastic pollution because advanced photocatalysts represent a potential technology for degrading plastic particles in water treatment systems.

2020 EcoMat 139 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