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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Nanoscale adhesion and friction behavior of individual nanoplastic particles under varying environmental conditions
ClearProbing Friction and Adhesion of Individual Nanoplastic Particles
Using atomic force microscopy, researchers directly measured the friction and adhesion properties of individual nanoplastic particles on surfaces. These physical measurements provide insights into how nanoplastics interact with biological surfaces, which is relevant to understanding how they penetrate cells and tissues.
Probing Primary and Mechanically Degraded Nanoplastic Particles via Atomic Force Microscopy
Nanoplastics — the smallest plastic particles — are difficult to characterize because of their tiny size, but atomic force microscopy (AFM) can probe their physical and mechanical properties at the nanoscale. This study used AFM to measure the size, shape, roughness, and adhesiveness of three types of nanoplastic particles (melamine formaldehyde, polystyrene, and PMMA) both before and after mechanical degradation. Understanding how nanoplastics change their shape and stickiness as they fragment is important for predicting how they will behave and accumulate in biological tissues and the environment.
Nanoscale Abrasive Wear of Polyethylene: A Novel Approach To Probe Nanoplastic Release at the Single Asperity Level
Scientists created a new method using atomic force microscopy to measure exactly how nanoplastics are released when sand grains scrape against polyethylene surfaces. They found that UV-weathered plastic released nanoplastics at ten times the rate of new plastic, through a different mechanism (cutting instead of plowing). This research provides the first quantitative measurements of nanoplastic release rates, helping predict how much nanoplastic pollution enters the environment from degrading plastic waste.
Sticking Efficiency of Microplastic Particles in Terrestrial Environments Determined with Atomic Force Microscopy
This study used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to directly measure how strongly microplastic particles stick to soil and sediment grain surfaces, helping to explain a long-standing discrepancy between theoretical predictions and experimental observations of microplastic transport through the ground. Accurate sticking efficiency values are critical for predicting how far microplastics will travel through soils and aquifers and whether they accumulate near the surface or penetrate to groundwater.
Using colloidal AFM probe technique and XDLVO theory to predict the transport of nanoplastics in porous media
Researchers used atomic force microscopy to directly measure forces between individual nanoplastics and soil porous media, finding that surface chemistry (amino vs. carboxyl modification) strongly controlled nanoplastic transport, with results better predicted by direct force measurements than by theoretical models alone.
Nanoscale interaction mechanism between bubbles and microplastics under the influence of natural organic matter in simulated marine environment
Researchers used atomic force microscopy to measure the nanoscale interactions between air bubbles and different types of microplastics in simulated seawater. They found that hydrophobic plastics like polystyrene and PVC showed stronger bubble attachment than hydrophilic ones, and that humic acid in the water significantly weakened these interactions. The study suggests that natural organic matter in oceans may reduce the tendency of microplastics to be carried to the surface by bubbles, affecting how they circulate in marine environments.
Nucleation and detachment of polystyrene nanoparticles from plowing-induced surface wrinkling
Researchers used an atomic force microscope tip to scratch polystyrene surfaces and observed the formation of nanoplastic particles up to 250 nm in diameter, revealing a mechanical wear process that could explain how everyday friction on plastic objects generates nanoplastics in the environment.
On the Formation and Characterization of Nanoplastics During Surface Wear Processes
Researchers characterized nanoplastic particle generation during surface wear processes, finding that mechanical abrasion of bulk plastic materials produces a broad size distribution of particles including sub-100 nm fragments, with surface wear rate depending on polymer hardness and contact conditions.
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) nanomechanical characterization of micro- and nanoplastics to support environmental investigations in groundwater
Researchers developed a new microscopy-based method using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to detect and characterize micro- and nanoplastics as small as a few nanometers, finding that microplastics collected from groundwater were rougher and more aggregated than lab-aged particles — meaning they likely carry more adsorbed pollutants into drinking water sources.
Influence of microplastics on the transport of antibiotics in sand filtration investigated by AFM force spectroscopy
Researchers used atomic force microscopy to measure adhesion forces between antibiotics and microplastics versus sand, finding that hydrophobic and π-π interactions cause microplastics to competitively adsorb antibiotics from quartz sand surfaces and then carry them through sand filtration columns faster than they would move alone.
Photoinduced Force Microscopy as an Efficient Method Towards the Detection of Nanoplastics
Researchers demonstrated photoinduced force microscopy as an effective method for detecting and chemically characterizing individual nanoplastic particles, overcoming limitations of conventional techniques that lack either sufficient spatial resolution or spectroscopic capability at the nanoscale.
Nanoplastic in aqueous environments: The role of chemo-electric properties for nanoplastic-mineral interaction
Researchers studied how nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer — stick to common soil minerals underground, finding that simple electrical repulsion is less important than chemical bonding, metal ion bridging, and hydrogen bonds. Understanding these interactions is key to predicting how nanoplastics move through soil and contaminate groundwater.
In vitro modeling for the aging of nanoplastics: physicochemical characteristics and effect on the biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus
Researchers found that nanoplastics change as they age under environmental conditions, altering surface properties and increasing bacterial attachment. Aged nanoplastics promoted Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation more than fresh particles, with potential implications for human health.
Towards mapping nanoplastic degradation with the ReactorAFM/STM
This work explored the use of ReactorAFM/STM — an advanced atomic-force and scanning tunneling microscopy technique — to map how nanoplastics break down at the nanoscale level. Developing tools to directly observe nanoplastic degradation is essential for understanding how long these particles persist in the environment and what byproducts they release.
Towards mapping nanoplastic degradation with the ReactorAFM/STM
This work explored the use of ReactorAFM/STM — an advanced atomic-force and scanning tunneling microscopy technique — to map how nanoplastics break down at the nanoscale level. Developing tools to directly observe nanoplastic degradation is essential for understanding how long these particles persist in the environment and what byproducts they release.
The role of microplastics in microalgae cells aggregation: A study at the molecular scale using atomic force microscopy
Atomic force microscopy was used at the molecular scale to study how microplastics interact with microalgae cells and affect their aggregation, finding that plastic particles altered cell surface properties and promoted clumping. The results suggest that microplastics can disrupt the normal behavior of primary producers at the base of aquatic food chains.
Investigating Adhesion and Degradation of Polymer Materials for Industrial Applications
This study investigated the adhesion and degradation behaviors of polymer materials used in industrial applications, examining how surface interactions and environmental breakdown contribute to plastic pollution through microplastic generation.
From Pristine to Laboratory-weathered Micro- and Nanoplastics: Interaction with Environmental Contaminants and Biological Effects
This review contrasts pristine and laboratory-weathered micro- and nanoplastics in terms of surface chemistry, adsorption of co-contaminants, and biological effects, arguing that weathered particles better represent real-world exposures and often exhibit different or greater toxicity.
Mineral surface-specific nanoplastic adsorption: Insights from quartz crystal microbalance experiment and molecular modeling simulations
This study investigated how nanoplastics stick to mineral surfaces commonly found in soil and water — specifically quartz (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3) — using both lab experiments and molecular computer simulations. The two minerals behaved oppositely: higher salt concentrations increased nanoplastic deposition on quartz but reduced it on alumina, explained by differences in hydrophobic versus hydrophilic surface interactions. Understanding these mineral-specific adsorption behaviors is important for predicting how nanoplastics move through soils and aquifers and whether they could reach drinking water sources.
Temporospatial nano-heterogeneity of self-assembly of extracellular polymeric substances on microplastics and water environmental implications
Using atomic force microscopy-infrared spectroscopy, researchers found that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from bacteria self-assemble onto microplastic surfaces in spatially heterogeneous patterns that differ between fresh and one-year aged polypropylene MPs. Aging caused nanoscale fragmentation that changed EPS binding patterns, with implications for how the microplastic corona forms and affects MP toxicity and transport.
Environmental Implications of Physicochemical Differences Between Environmental Nanoplastics and Their Commercial Forms
Researchers conceptually analyzed physicochemical differences between environmentally aged nanoplastics and their commercial engineered forms, examining how natural aging alters surface properties, environmental stability, and behavior in aquatic media for five types of environmentally relevant nanoplastic models.
Reflecting the aging behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics in the seawater through Young's modulus by atomic force microscope
Researchers used atomic force microscopy to track how polystyrene nanoplastics change as they age in seawater by measuring their mechanical stiffness. They found that the stiffness of the particles changed in distinct patterns as oxidation and cross-linking occurred during aging. The study introduces a new, non-destructive method for determining the aging stage of nanoplastics, which could help researchers better understand how long plastic particles have been in the environment.
Hydrophobic Interactions Drive the Attachment of a Model Nanoplastic on Porous Media Surfaces
When nanoplastics enter soil or groundwater, whether they stick to surfaces or keep moving depends on subtle surface chemistry — particularly how hydrophobic (water-repelling) both the particle and the surrounding material are. Using model nanoplastic particles in a miniature glass pore network, this study demonstrated that hydrophobic attraction can overpower the electrical repulsion that would otherwise keep nanoparticles suspended, causing irreversible attachment to surfaces. This insight is important for predicting how nanoplastics spread through underground water systems and whether they are likely to reach drinking water sources.
Hydrophobic Interactions Drive the Attachment of a Model Nanoplastic on Hydrophobic Collector Surfaces
Researchers used a model nanoplastic (charge-stabilized ethyl cellulose nanoparticles) in a glass pore network to demonstrate that hydrophobic interactions dominate nanoplastic attachment at solid-water and air-water interfaces in groundwater, establishing that hydrophobicity is a critical driver of nanoplastic fate and transport in the subsurface.