Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Photoaging effects on polyethylene microplastics: Structural changes and chlorpyrifos adsorption

Researchers studied how UVB-induced photoaging changes the properties of polyethylene microplastics and their ability to absorb the pesticide chlorpyrifos. They found that aged microplastics absorbed nearly 18% more pesticide than pristine ones, due to the formation of oxygen-containing surface groups, increased surface roughness, and reduced crystallinity. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in the environment may pose greater risks as carriers of harmful pesticides.

2024 Marine Environmental Research 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behaviors of chlorpyrifos on UV aged microplastics

Researchers investigated how UV aging affects the adsorption of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on biodegradable and non-degradable microplastics, finding that UV irradiation significantly modified plastic surfaces and enhanced their capacity to carry organic pollutants.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Laboratory Studies about Microplastic Aging and Its Effects on the Adsorption of Chlorpyrifos

Researchers simulated the aging of six types of microplastics in freshwater and seawater to study how weathering affects their ability to adsorb the pesticide chlorpyrifos. The study found that UV-driven aging caused surface cracks, pores, and chemical changes in the microplastics, and the aging process increased their capacity to adsorb chlorpyrifos, suggesting that weathered microplastics in the environment may carry higher concentrations of pesticide pollutants.

2023 Polymers 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic interpretation of the sorption of terbuthylazine pesticide onto aged microplastics

Researchers investigated how accelerated weathering — using UV irradiation, hydrogen peroxide, and ultrasonic treatment — alters the surface properties of polyethylene microplastics and affects their sorption of the herbicide terbuthylazine. Aged polyethylene particles showed measurably different sorption kinetics and capacities compared to pristine particles, providing mechanistic insight into how environmental aging changes microplastic interactions with organic pollutants like pesticides.

2024 Universitätsbibliothek Gießen
Article Tier 2

Impact of UV-B Photoaging on Chlorpyrifos Adsorption by PET Microplastics: Insights from Experimental and DFT Analysis

Researchers studied how UV-B light aging changes the ability of PET microplastics to absorb the pesticide chlorpyrifos, combining laboratory experiments with computational modeling. They found that aging created new surface functional groups on the microplastics that significantly increased their capacity to bind the pesticide. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in the environment may carry higher loads of harmful chemicals than fresh plastic particles.

2024 ACS Omega 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behaviors of atrazine and imidacloprid on high temperature aged microplastics: Mechanism and influencing factors

Researchers investigated how aged polyethylene microplastics — the kind that have been weathered by UV light and heat in the environment — adsorb common agricultural pesticides, finding that microplastics can accumulate pesticides like atrazine and imidacloprid at high concentrations through hydrophobic (water-avoiding) interactions. This "Trojan horse" effect means microplastics can carry and potentially concentrate pesticides as they move through water environments.

2024 Desalination and Water Treatment 7 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of microplastic aging on chlorpyrifos adsorption-desorption and microplastic bioconcentration

Researchers investigated how microplastic aging affects chlorpyrifos adsorption-desorption behavior, finding that aged microplastics had higher pesticide sorption capacity and bioconcentration potential, suggesting weathered MPs pose greater risks as pollutant carriers.

2023 Environmental Pollution 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic interpretation of the sorption of terbuthylazine pesticide onto aged microplastics

Scientists studied how environmental aging changes the ability of polyethylene microplastics to absorb a common pesticide called terbuthylazine. Aged microplastics absorbed less pesticide than fresh ones because weathering made their surfaces less water-repellent and more negatively charged. This matters for understanding real-world risks because it suggests that the ability of microplastics to carry pesticides and other chemicals may change over time as the particles weather in the environment.

2024 Environmental Pollution 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging of microplastics increases their adsorption affinity towards organic contaminants

Researchers found that microplastics that have been weathered by sunlight and environmental exposure absorb significantly more chemical pollutants than fresh microplastics, with up to a 4.7-fold increase in adsorption. Ultraviolet exposure changes the surface chemistry of the plastics, making them stickier for contaminants. This matters because most microplastics in nature are weathered, meaning they may be carrying more toxic chemicals into the food chain than laboratory studies using new plastics would suggest.

2022 Chemosphere 290 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Behavior and mechanism of atrazine adsorption on pristine and aged microplastics in the aquatic environment: Kinetic and thermodynamic studies

Researchers systematically explored how the pesticide atrazine adsorbs onto both pristine and aged microplastics in aquatic environments. The study found that aged microplastics had higher adsorption capacities than pristine ones, with the aging process and pH significantly affecting surface charge and adsorption behavior, suggesting that weathered microplastics may carry greater loads of chemical contaminants.

2021 Chemosphere 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Accelerated photoaging of microplastic - polyethylene terephthalate: physical, chemical, morphological properties and pesticide adsorption

Researchers subjected polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics to accelerated photoaging under simulated sunlight, characterizing changes in surface chemistry, crystallinity, and mechanical properties over time. Photoaging increased surface oxidation, reduced molecular weight, and enhanced the release of plastic additives, suggesting aged PET microplastics present greater chemical hazard than pristine particles.

2024 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Alachlor, Lindane, And Methomyl onto Polystyrene Microplastics: Effects of Aging Treatments

Researchers studied how laboratory aging treatments affect the ability of polystyrene microplastics to absorb three common pesticides. They found that UV-aged and chemically oxidized microplastics adsorbed significantly more pesticides than unaged particles due to increased surface area and chemical changes. The findings indicate that weathered microplastics in the environment may act as more potent carriers of agricultural chemicals.

2024 Environmental Engineering Science 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Change in adsorption behavior of aquatic humic substances on microplastic through biotic and abiotic aging processes

Researchers found that both UV irradiation and microbial aging of polyethylene microplastics significantly altered their surface chemistry, changing how aquatic humic substances adsorb onto the plastic surface and highlighting the importance of weathering state in assessing microplastic-contaminant interactions.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of triazine pesticides on polystyrene microplastics aging with different processes in natural environment

Researchers found that microplastics that have aged in the environment absorb pesticides more effectively and quickly than fresh microplastics, and the pesticide-loaded particles are more toxic to bacteria. This means that as microplastics weather outdoors, they become better carriers for agricultural chemicals, potentially increasing the combined health risks when these contaminated particles enter food or water supplies.

2024 Environmental Pollution 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic Adsorption of Organic Pollutants on Weathered Polyethylene Microplastics

Researchers studied how environmental weathering changes the ability of polyethylene microplastics to adsorb organic pollutants like triclosan and methylparaben. The study found that weathered and oxidatively degradable polyethylene adsorbed significantly more pollutants than virgin plastic, suggesting that aged microplastics in the environment may pose a greater risk as carriers of toxic chemicals.

2022 Polymers 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Can aged microplastics be transport vectors for organic micropollutants? – Sorption and phytotoxicity tests

This study examined whether aged microplastics can act as transport carriers for organic micropollutants in the environment. Researchers found that aging processes like UV weathering altered the surface properties of microplastics, affecting their ability to sorb pollutants and influence phytotoxicity in plants.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 56 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comparison of the Adsorption Behavior of Bisphenol A by Microplastics From Different Sources

Lab experiments showed that UV weathering of four common microplastic types — PVC, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyolefin resin — consistently increased their ability to adsorb the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) by up to 19%, and in some cases changed the fundamental mechanism of adsorption. Acidic conditions and warmer temperatures amplified uptake, while higher plastic doses diluted it. Since weathered microplastics are what actually exist in the environment, these results suggest that aged particles are more potent BPA carriers than fresh plastic, worsening hormonal disruption risks in aquatic ecosystems.

2026 Water Environment Research
Article Tier 2

Influence of aging on the affinity between microplastics and organic contaminants

Researchers investigated how UV and UV+H2O2 aging affects the capacity of polystyrene microplastics to adsorb and release pesticides and other organic contaminants, finding that aging-induced surface changes significantly altered adsorption affinity and desorption behavior compared to unaged controls.

2025 SHAREOK (University of Oklahoma; Oklahoma State University; Central Oklahoma University)
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

A comparative study on the adsorption behavior of pesticides by pristine and aged microplastics from agricultural polyethylene soil films

Researchers compared how pristine and aged agricultural polyethylene film microplastics adsorb pesticides. They found that aged films, which develop rougher surfaces, more cracks, and oxygen-containing chemical groups, adsorb pesticides more readily than pristine ones. The study suggests that weathered agricultural microplastics in soil may act as carriers for pesticide contamination, potentially increasing environmental and human health risks.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 146 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Microplastics with Emerging Organic Pollutants: A Study on Atrazine Adsorption and Phytotoxicity

Researchers studied how aged and pristine polyethylene microplastics adsorb the herbicide atrazine and whether this combination affects plant seed germination. Aged microplastics absorbed significantly more atrazine than new ones due to surface changes from UV exposure, and the atrazine-loaded aged particles inhibited lettuce germination by up to 34%. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in agricultural environments may amplify the harmful effects of pesticide contamination.

2025 Toxics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

[Sorption of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers by Virgin and Aged Microplastics].

This study examined how environmental aging under UV light changes the ability of polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics to adsorb polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), common flame retardant chemicals. Aged microplastics showed altered sorption capacity compared to virgin particles, affecting how these toxic chemicals are transported in aquatic environments.

2020 PubMed 12 citations