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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Differential photoaging behaviors of different colored commercial polyethylene microplastics in water: The important role of color characteristics
ClearCritical 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.
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.
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.
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.
Differential Photoaging Effects on Colored Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Physicochemical Properties and Aggregation Kinetics
Researchers studied how sunlight affects differently colored nanoplastics in water, finding that lighter-colored particles break down faster than darker ones. All colors went through a predictable sequence of fading, yellowing, and becoming transparent over about three weeks of UV exposure. The study also found that the aging process changed how easily the particles clump together, which affects how they move through aquatic environments and potentially how organisms encounter them.
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.
Influence of microplastic colour on photodegradation of sorbed contaminants
Researchers investigated how microplastic colour affects the photodegradation of sorbed contaminants, exposing anthracene-loaded polyethylene microplastics of four colours to UVA light and finding that unpigmented plastics degraded the contaminant fastest while white and blue pigmented plastics degraded it slowest, attributing differences to pigment light absorption profiles.
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.
Quantifying UVC-Induced Aging of Microplastics Using a Multivariate Aging Score
Researchers examined how UVC radiation ages three common types of microplastics and found that polypropylene degraded far more rapidly than polyethylene or PET, developing widespread surface cracks and generating secondary plastic fragments. They developed a multivariate aging score that combines chemical and physical measurements to better quantify how microplastics deteriorate over time. The study also found that colored polypropylene products aged faster than transparent ones, highlighting how product formulation influences environmental breakdown.
Influence of aging and colorants on environmental degradation of polyolefins
By analyzing 44 polyethylene lobster trap tags that had spent anywhere from a few years to over four decades in the ocean, researchers found that plastic aging in the marine environment is not a simple linear process — and that the color of the plastic matters enormously. Red tags degraded the most, while blue and green tags were the least affected, pointing to the role of pigments in determining how quickly plastic breaks down and generates microplastics. Understanding how different plastic colors and formulations degrade helps scientists predict microplastic formation rates in the ocean.
From macroplastics to microplastics: Role of water in the fragmentation of polyethylene
Laboratory photodegradation experiments compared how polyethylene plastic films fragment in water versus air under UV light, finding that the aquatic environment significantly influences the physical and chemical breakdown of plastic into microplastics. The study improves understanding of how water immersion changes the photodegradation pathways of floating and submerged plastic debris.
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.
A New Colorimetric Test for Accurate Determination of Plastic Biodegradation
This paper introduces a new colorimetric test designed to detect actual plastic biodegradation more directly and rapidly than conventional mineralisation-based methods, addressing a major gap in reliably assessing whether plastics break down in natural environments. Better biodegradability testing tools are essential for validating claims about "biodegradable" plastics and for tracking microplastic fate in soils and water.
Progress on the photo aging mechanism of microplastics and related impact factors in water environment
This review examined the photo-aging mechanisms of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that solar UV radiation drives oxidation reactions that alter surface chemistry, fragment particles further, and enhance their capacity to adsorb and release co-occurring pollutants.
Microplastic particle versus fiber generation during photo-transformation in simulated seawater
Researchers exposed common plastic films and fibers to simulated sunlight in seawater and tracked the photo-transformation process, finding that particles and fibers formed at different rates and that UV irradiation preferentially generates certain morphologies depending on the parent polymer.
Environmental degradation and fragmentation of microplastics: dependence on polymer type, humidity, UV dose and temperature
Researchers systematically tested how UV light, temperature, and humidity cause five common plastic types to break apart into secondary microplastics and nanoplastics. They found that the type of plastic — not the aging conditions — was the main factor determining how quickly it fragmented and what byproducts it released, data that can improve models predicting how plastics break down in the environment.
UVA-induced weathering of microplastics in seawater: surface property transformations and kinetics
Researchers studied how UVA radiation weathers microplastics in seawater, examining changes to surface properties and degradation rates. The study developed a model integrating an aging index with degradation kinetics, finding that UV exposure significantly transforms microplastic surface characteristics, which affects their behavior and potential ecological impact in marine environments.
Accelerated aging of polyvinyl chloride microplastics by UV irradiation: Aging characteristics, filtrate analysis, and adsorption behavior
Researchers systematically investigated how UV irradiation ages polyvinyl chloride microplastics, characterizing changes in their physical and chemical properties and the organic matter they release. The study established quantitative relationships between the degree of aging and the capacity of microplastics to adsorb environmental pollutants like malachite green and sulfamethoxazole, providing a tool for predicting contaminant accumulation on weathered microplastics in natural environments.
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.
Photoaging of Typical Microplastics as Affected by Air Humidity: Mechanistic Insights into the Important Role of Water Molecules
Researchers developed in situ spectroscopic methods to study how air humidity affects microplastic photoaging, finding that water molecules play an important role in accelerating the degradation of polyethylene microplastics on land surfaces.
The Role of Artificial Weathering Protocols on Abiotic and Bacterial Degradation of Polyethylene
Researchers compared three different artificial weathering protocols to understand how UV exposure patterns affect the degradation of polyethylene and its subsequent breakdown by bacteria. The study found that different weathering conditions significantly influence the physicochemical properties of polyethylene, which in turn affects how readily microorganisms can degrade the material, with implications for understanding microplastic formation in the environment.
UV sources and plastic composition influence microplastic surface degradation: Implications for plastic weathering studies
This study tested how different UV light sources change the surface of common microplastics like polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. The results show that sunlight and lab UV lights weather plastics differently, changing their surface roughness and chemical makeup -- which matters because these surface changes affect how microplastics transport pollutants and interact with living organisms in the environment.
Comprehensive Understanding on the Aging Process and Mechanism of Microplastics in the Sediment–Water Interface: Untangling the Role of Photoaging and Biodegradation
Researchers examined how microplastics break down at the boundary between water and sediment in coastal wetlands, comparing the roles of sunlight-driven aging and biological degradation. They found that photoaging was the dominant process, accounting for over 55% of surface changes, and that biodegradable plastics aged faster than conventional ones. The study provides important insights into how microplastics transform in real-world coastal environments.
Understanding the hazards induced by microplastics in different environmental conditions
Researchers subjected four common plastic types to accelerated aging under UV light, enzyme exposure, and seawater conditions to understand how environmental stress transforms microplastics. They found that seawater conditions caused the greatest size reduction, with polyethylene shrinking by over 87%, along with significant chemical changes including the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups. The study suggests that environmentally weathered microplastics, particularly polyethylene exposed to ocean conditions, may pose greater potential health hazards than pristine particles.