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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Photoaging alters the aggregation behavior of functionalized nanoplastics differently: effects of leached organic matter and surface properties changes
ClearExposure Order to Photoaging and Humic Acids Significantly Modifies the Aggregation and Transformation of Nanoplastics in Aqueous Solutions
Researchers discovered that the order in which nanoplastics are exposed to sunlight and natural organic matter significantly changes how they clump together and behave in water. Nanoplastics aged by sunlight before encountering humic acids behaved differently than those exposed in the reverse order. This finding is important for predicting how nanoplastics actually move and persist in real-world water environments.
Photoaging-induced variations in heteroaggregation of nanoplastics and suspended sediments in aquatic environments: A case study on nanopolystyrene
Researchers investigated how photoaging affects the aggregation behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics with suspended sediments in water. They found that 30 days of photoaging retarded aggregation in sodium chloride solutions due to steric hindrance from leached organic matter, but promoted aggregation in calcium chloride solutions through calcium bridging of newly formed oxygen-containing surface groups. The study provides mechanistic insights into how environmental weathering changes the transport and fate of nanoplastics in aquatic systems.
Dissolved Organic Matter Enhanced the Aggregation and Oxidation of Nanoplastics under Simulated Sunlight Irradiation in Water
Dissolved organic matter was found to enhance both the aggregation and photooxidation of nanoplastics under simulated sunlight in water, with humic substances promoting particle clustering and accelerating surface oxidation. The results indicate that organic matter content in natural waters strongly influences nanoplastic fate and transformation.
Natural Organic Matter Stabilizes Pristine Nanoplastics but Destabilizes Photochemical Weathered Nanoplastics in Monovalent Electrolyte Solutions
This study examined how sunlight weathering and natural organic matter coatings change the behavior of nanoplastics in water. Researchers found that organic matter stabilizes fresh nanoplastics but actually destabilizes sun-weathered ones, meaning aged nanoplastics in natural waters may clump together and settle differently than expected, affecting where they end up in aquatic environments.
Combined effects of photoaging and natural organic matter on the colloidal stability of nanoplastics in aquatic environments
Researchers found that photoaging of polystyrene nanoplastics alters how natural organic matter interacts with their surfaces — reducing humic acid adsorption while increasing protein adsorption — with downstream effects on the nanoplastics' stability and transport in aquatic environments.
Aggregation kinetics of UV irradiated nanoplastics in aquatic environments
Researchers compared the aggregation behavior of fresh versus UV-aged polystyrene nanoplastics under various aquatic conditions. They found that UV aging altered the surface chemistry of nanoplastics, making them more stable in water and less likely to aggregate, which means they could remain suspended and bioavailable for longer periods. The study suggests that weathered nanoplastics may behave very differently from fresh particles in the environment, complicating risk assessments.
Effect of the Surface Hydrophobicity–Morphology–Functionality of Nanoplastics on Their Homoaggregation in Seawater
Researchers found that nanoplastic surface hydrophobicity, morphology, and functional chemistry strongly govern homoaggregation behavior in aquatic environments, with more hydrophobic and functionalized particles forming larger, faster-settling aggregates that alter their environmental fate and bioavailability.
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.
The fate, impacts and potential risks of photoaging process of the microplastics in the aqueous environment
This review examines how ultraviolet light from sunlight causes microplastics in water to age and change their physical and chemical properties, including surface texture, chemical structure, and water-repelling ability. Researchers found that photoaged microplastics become better at carrying other pollutants and may pose greater environmental risks than fresh plastics. The study highlights that aged microplastics can also increase biological toxicity and human exposure risks compared to their original form.
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.
UV-induced aggregation of polystyrene nanoplastics: effects of radicals, surface functional groups and electrolyte
UV irradiation was found to increase the aggregation of polystyrene nanoplastics to varying degrees depending on surface functional groups and electrolyte conditions, with free radicals playing a key role. Understanding aggregation behavior is important for predicting how nanoplastics behave and settle in aquatic environments.
The influence of oxidation and hydrophobic coupling on the transport behavior of polyethylene microplastics: The synergistic effect of ultraviolet aging and surfactants
Researchers investigated how ultraviolet aging and surfactant attachment interact to influence the transport behavior of polyethylene microplastics, finding that UV oxidation increases oxygen-containing surface groups and reduces hydrophobicity, which in turn alters surfactant adsorption and modifies particle mobility in environmental systems. The study addresses a gap in understanding the coupled effects of oxidative aging and surface chemistry on microplastic transport.
Nanoplastics in aquatic environments: The hidden impact of aging on fate and toxicity
This review highlights that most toxicity studies on nanoplastics use brand-new pristine particles, but real-world nanoplastics are aged by sunlight and chemical exposure, which fundamentally changes their surface properties and toxicity. Aged nanoplastics may be more harmful than pristine ones because they interact differently with biological systems, meaning current safety assessments likely underestimate the true risks.
Weathering pathways differentially affect colloidal stability of nanoplastics
This study showed that different environmental weathering pathways — UV exposure, mechanical abrasion, and chemical aging — differentially affect nanoplastic aggregation behavior, with implications for how their colloidal stability and environmental transport should be assessed in risk evaluations.
Study on the impact of photoaging on the generation of very small microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) and the wettability of plastic surface
Experiments using UV light to artificially age six common plastic types showed that sunlight (photoaging) accelerates the breakdown of plastics into very small microplastics and nanoplastics and makes plastic surfaces rougher and more chemically reactive. Understanding how different polymer structures respond to light aging is important for predicting which plastics will fragment fastest in the environment and generate the most hazardous small particles.
Photo-oxidation of Micro- and Nanoplastics: Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects in Environments
This review examines how sunlight breaks down micro- and nanoplastics in the environment, changing their surface properties and making them interact differently with pollutants and living organisms. Sun-aged plastic particles can become more toxic to aquatic life and affect soil microbe communities, but many questions remain about these processes under real-world conditions.
Insights into the Photoaging Behavior of Microplastics: Environmental Fate and Ecological Risk
This review examines how sunlight ages microplastics in the environment, breaking them into smaller pieces and changing their surface chemistry in ways that make them more toxic and more likely to carry other pollutants. Sun-aged microplastics release dissolved organic matter that can harm aquatic life, and their roughened surfaces attract more bacteria and chemical contaminants. Since most microplastics in nature have been exposed to sunlight, their real-world health risks may be higher than studies using fresh lab plastics suggest.
Insights into the characteristics, adsorption and desorption behaviors of microplastics aged with or without fulvic acid
Researchers investigated how fulvic acid, a key component of dissolved organic matter, influences the aging, adsorption, and desorption behavior of microplastics under UV radiation, finding that water environmental factors significantly alter the surface properties and contaminant-binding capacity of aged microplastics.
Hydrophilic Fraction of Dissolved Organic Matter Largely Facilitated Microplastics Photoaging: Insights from Redox Properties and Reactive Oxygen Species
This study investigated how dissolved organic matter in natural water affects the breakdown of microplastics by sunlight. The water-soluble fraction of organic matter was most effective at speeding up microplastic aging by generating reactive oxygen species that attack the plastic surface. This matters because faster breakdown of microplastics in the environment creates smaller, potentially more dangerous nanoplastic particles that can more easily enter living organisms.
Elucidating the characteristic of leachates released from microplastics under different aging conditions: Perspectives of dissolved organic carbon fingerprints and nano-plastics
Researchers investigated how different aging conditions affect the release of dissolved organic carbon and nanoplastics from PVC and polystyrene microplastics over 130 days. The study found that UV aging and high temperatures promoted the release of nanoplastics and altered the chemical characteristics of leached substances, with UV-aged treatments producing smaller, rougher nanoparticles that may pose greater ecological risks.