Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Surface Chemistry in Environmental Degradation of Polymeric Solids

Researchers reviewed the three main degradation pathways of plastic materials from a surface chemistry perspective: chemical, biological, and mechanical degradation. They described how these processes can occur consecutively or simultaneously in the environment, ultimately producing microplastics. The study provides a scientific framework for understanding how plastics break down into smaller particles, which is essential for developing strategies to address microplastic pollution.

2024 Langmuir 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Polymers and Microplastics: Implications on Our Environment and Sustainability

This review discusses the environmental implications of polymers and microplastics, covering their properties, production trends, degradation pathways, and ecological impacts. It highlights the tension between the industrial utility of plastics and their growing threat to environmental and human health.

2020 IntechOpen eBooks 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Review on microplastic-polymer composite interactions: assessing contaminant adsorption, structural integrity, and environmental impacts

This review examined how microplastics interact with polymer composites and serve as carriers for heavy metals, organic pollutants, and pathogens. The study assessed how polymer type, surface properties, and environmental conditions influence contaminant adsorption and transport, highlighting the complex role of microplastics in pollutant cycling.

2025 Communication in Physical Sciences
Article Tier 2

Degradation and Recycling of Polymer Materials

This review synthesizes research on the degradation and recycling of polymer materials, covering microplastic formation, recycling strategies, and plastic degradation mechanisms as responses to the significant environmental damage caused by discarded plastics in ocean and other ecosystems.

2025
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive review on polymer degradation: Mechanisms, environmental implications, and sustainable mitigation strategies

This comprehensive review examined polymer degradation mechanisms including thermal, photo, oxidative, hydrolytic, and biodegradation processes and their environmental implications. The study discussed how these degradation pathways generate microplastic pollution and contribute to ecosystem disruption, while evaluating sustainable mitigation strategies such as biodegradable polymers, advanced recycling, and stabilization techniques.

2025 Communication in Physical Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

olYours iReview on microplastic-polymer composite interactions: Assessing contaminant adsorption, structural integrity, and environmental impacts

This review examines how microplastics interact with polymer composites, focusing on contaminant adsorption mechanisms, effects on composite structural integrity, and the broader environmental implications of plastic-pollutant interactions in ecosystems.

2025 Communication in Physical Sciences
Review Tier 2

The chemical behaviors of microplastics in marine environment: A review

This review summarized interactions between microplastics and organic pollutants and metals in the marine environment, covering sorption behavior across polymer types, the role of degradation in altering sorption capacity, and global monitoring data on pollutant concentrations on marine plastics. The authors conclude that microplastic type, pollutant properties, and environmental conditions all strongly influence chemical accumulation on plastic surfaces.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 654 citations
Article Tier 2

Interfacial Phenomena of Plastics: From Surface Modifications to Environmental Impacts

This review examines the interfacial phenomena of plastics, covering how surface modifications affect plastic properties and how surface characteristics drive environmental impacts including pollutant sorption, biofilm formation, and ecosystem interactions once plastics enter natural environments.

2025 Civil War Book Review
Article Tier 2

Vacuum UV (VUV) Photo‐Oxidation of Polymer Surfaces to Enhance Adhesion

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper reviews vacuum UV photo-oxidation techniques for improving adhesion and hydrophilicity of polymer surfaces, focused on industrial materials processing rather than environmental plastic pollution.

2024 2 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Environmental behaviors of microplastics in aquatic systems: A systematic review on degradation, adsorption, toxicity and biofilm under aging conditions

Aging processes like UV irradiation and physical abrasion alter microplastic surface properties, increasing their capacity to adsorb environmental pollutants while also enhancing leaching of toxic additives like phthalates, collectively amplifying the environmental toxicity of weathered microplastics.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 560 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid Physicochemical Changes in Microplastic Induced by Biofilm Formation

Researchers studied how biofilm formation rapidly changes the physical and chemical properties of microplastics over a two-week period. The study found significant two-way interactions between microbial communities and plastic surfaces, with biofilm colonization altering surface properties of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene, while the type of polymer influenced which microbial communities developed.

2020 Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 159 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on the Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environment before and after the Aging of Typical Microplastics

Researchers investigated the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of heavy metals by typical microplastics before and after environmental aging, finding that aging significantly alters microplastics' surface properties and capacity to bind metals such as cadmium and lead in aquatic systems.

2024
Article Tier 2

From Macro to Micro Plastics; Influence of Photo-oxidative Degradation

This study used simulated UV aging to investigate how photo-oxidative degradation of common plastics drives fragmentation from macro to micro scale, characterizing the surface property changes and structural breakdown that generate microplastic particles in the environment.

2023 Kemija u industriji 4 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A systematic review of microplastics in the environment: Sampling, separation, characterization and coexistence mechanisms with pollutants

Massive microplastic pollution was documented across Africa, Asia, India, South Africa, North America, and Europe, with MPs acting as carriers of heavy metals that enter organisms and cause harm. The adsorption capacity of organic pollutants onto microplastics correlated with hydrophobicity, surface area, and functional group characteristics.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 71 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Laboratory simulation of microplastics weathering and its adsorption behaviors in an aqueous environment: A systematic review

UV photo-oxidation and physical abrasion are the most practical laboratory methods for simulating microplastic weathering; aging increases surface area and oxygen-containing functional groups, altering pollutant adsorption behavior and potentially increasing environmental risks.

2020 Environmental Pollution 319 citations
Article Tier 2

On the issue of microplastics in the environment

This paper examines the origins of microplastic pollution, arguing that its emergence is not solely attributable to polymer chemistry advances and cannot be explained simply by physicochemical degradation processes acting on plastic materials.

2024 Tovaroved prodovolstvennykh tovarov (Commodity specialist of food products)
Article Tier 2

The surface degradation and release of microplastics from plastic films studied by UV radiation and mechanical abrasion

Researchers examined how UV radiation and mechanical abrasion, both individually and combined, cause plastic films to degrade and release microplastics. They found that the combination of UV exposure and physical wear was significantly more damaging than either factor alone, accelerating surface deterioration and particle release. The study provides evidence that everyday environmental conditions can generate substantial quantities of microplastics from common plastic materials.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 112 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges and Strategies for Degradation of Microplastics in Environment

This review examines the challenges of degrading microplastics in environmental settings, discussing their hydrophobic nature, persistent covalent bonds, and large specific surface area that attracts co-contaminants, and surveys physical, chemical, and biological degradation strategies alongside remaining technical hurdles to practical implementation.

2024
Article Tier 2

A Mini Review on Recent Insight into Degradation of Environmental Plastics

This mini-review summarizes current knowledge on how plastics break down in the environment to form microplastics, covering mechanical, photochemical, thermal, and biological degradation pathways, and identifies key gaps in understanding how environmental conditions and plastic properties influence degradation rates.

2023 International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Weathering on Microplastic Dispersibility and Pollutant Uptake Capacity

This study examined how environmental weathering changes the surface properties of microplastics and their ability to absorb co-pollutants, finding that weathered MPs bind more contaminants than pristine particles due to surface oxidation and cracking. The results emphasize that the environmental fate and toxicity of microplastics change dynamically as they age in the environment.

2022 ACS Environmental Au 79 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Role of Structural Morphology of Commodity Polymers in Microplastics and Nanoplastics Formation: Fragmentation, Effects and Associated Toxicity in the Aquatic Environment

This review examines how the structural morphology and chemical composition of commodity polymers influence the formation and environmental behaviour of microplastics and nanoplastics, arguing that chemical degradation pathways have been largely overlooked in favour of purely physical abrasion explanations for plastic fragmentation.

2021 Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

In-soil degradation of polymer materials waste – A survey of different approaches in relation with environmental impact

This review surveys the in-soil degradation of polymer materials — including natural fibers, synthetic plastics, and composites — examining how environmental factors such as UV radiation, microorganisms, moisture, and temperature drive degradation and influence the environmental impact of plastic waste in terrestrial ecosystems.

2022 BioResources 6 citations