Papers

61,005 results
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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

Aging of textile-based microfibers in both air and water environments

Researchers aged textile-based microfibers under controlled air and water environments over extended periods, characterizing changes in surface chemistry, mechanical properties, and morphology, finding that degradation pathways differed substantially between air and aquatic conditions.

2025 Water Research 3 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

Sorption behaviors of petroleum on micro-sized polyethylene aging for different time in seawater

Researchers found that aging of polyethylene microplastics in seawater over 180 days progressively increased petroleum adsorption capacity, with surface oxidation and roughening from weathering creating more binding sites for hydrocarbon contaminants.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Ageing Affects the Mechanical Interactionbetween Microplastics and Lipid Bilayers

Researchers found that as polyethylene microplastics age and become more hydrophilic, they adhere more strongly to lipid bilayers and cause greater membrane stretching, suggesting that weathered microplastics in the environment may pose higher biological risks than fresh particles.

2023
Article Tier 2

Aging characteristics of polylatic acid microplastics and their adsorption on hydrophilic organic pollutants: mechanistic investigations and theoretical calculations

Researchers characterized how polylactic acid microplastics undergo UV and thermal aging in aquatic environments, finding that aging altered surface chemistry, increased hydrophilicity, and enhanced adsorption of heavy metal pollutants—raising concerns about aged biodegradable plastics as carriers of co-contaminants.

2025 Environmental Pollution 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption properties of natural and synthetic fiber microplastics for organic dyes: Effects of aging and environmental factors

This study investigated how UV aging of disposable face towels made from regenerated cellulose or PET alters their surface properties and dye adsorption behavior in aquatic environments, finding that aging-induced changes in surface charge and hydrophilicity significantly affect contaminant transport capacity.

2025 Environmental Pollution 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption and bioacessibility of 17β-Estradiol on Environmental Microplastics: Particle Size, Aging, Competitive Interactions and Co-exposure

This study investigated the sorption of the hormone 17β-estradiol onto polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene microplastics, examining how particle size and aging affect sorption capacity and co-exposure toxicity. Smaller and aged MPs showed higher estrogen sorption, increasing the potential for MPs to act as vectors for hormonal contaminants in aquatic environments.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental contamination
Article Tier 2

Induced aging, structural change, and adsorption behavior modifications of microplastics by microalgae

Researchers found that microalgal biofouling caused more significant aging and surface degradation of microplastics compared to river microbial biofouling over a 30-day period. The study suggests that algae-induced aging substantially enhances the ability of polyethylene and PVC microplastics to adsorb organic pollutants like bisphenol analogues, increasing their potential to transport contaminants in the environment.

2022 Environment International 46 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

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
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

Effect of Aging on Physicochemical Properties and Size Distribution of PET Microplastic: Influence on Adsorption of Diclofenac and Toxicity Assessment

Researchers studied how environmental aging changes the physical and chemical properties of PET microplastics and their ability to absorb pharmaceutical pollutants. They found that aged microplastics had rougher surfaces and greater capacity to adsorb diclofenac, a common pain medication found in waterways. The study suggests that weathered microplastics may act as more effective carriers of pharmaceutical contaminants in the environment compared to fresh plastics.

2023 Toxics 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Degradation of Polyethylene Particles on Their Cytotoxicity

Researchers found that degradation of polyethylene particles altered their cytotoxicity, with weathered and fragmented PE showing different toxic effects on cells compared to pristine particles, suggesting environmental aging changes microplastic health risks.

2023 Microplastics 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Polypropylene microplastics aging under natural conditions in winter and summer and its effects on the sorption and desorption of nonylphenol

Researchers found that naturally aged polypropylene microplastics, especially those weathered in summer, showed significantly enhanced sorption capacity for the pollutant nonylphenol compared to pristine microplastics, due to surface property changes from environmental aging.

2023 Environmental Research 46 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Recent advances on microplastic aging: Identification, mechanism, influence factors, and additives release

This review found that environmental aging transforms microplastic surface properties through abrasion, chemical oxidation, UV irradiation, and biodegradation, altering their environmental behavior and ecological risk. Aging also triggers the release of toxic plastic additives, but significant gaps remain between laboratory aging simulations and real-world conditions.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 181 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption/desorption behavior of degradable polylactic acid microplastics on bisphenol A under different aging conditions

Researchers studied how different types of UV-simulated aging affect the ability of polylactic acid microplastics to adsorb and release bisphenol A. The study found that aging conditions changed the surface properties of the biodegradable plastic, altering its interaction with this common environmental contaminant. The findings suggest that even biodegradable microplastics can act as carriers of harmful chemicals depending on their degradation state.

2024 New Journal of Chemistry 14 citations
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

Surface functional groups determine adsorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on polypropylene microplastics

Researchers found that surface functional groups on aged polypropylene microplastics determined their adsorption capacity for pharmaceuticals and personal care products, with aged plastic showing much higher pollutant uptake than fresh plastic due to weathering-induced surface changes.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 157 citations
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive review of microplastic aging: Laboratory simulations, physicochemical properties, adsorption mechanisms, and environmental impacts

This review examines how microplastics change as they age in the environment through exposure to sunlight, water, and chemicals, becoming rougher and more chemically reactive over time. Aged microplastics absorb more pollutants than fresh ones and release harmful additives and free radicals, meaning the microplastics people encounter in the real world may be more dangerous than the pristine particles typically used in lab studies.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 35 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024
Article Tier 2

Insight into the effect of natural aging of polystyrene microplastics on the sorption of legacy and emerging per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances in seawater

Naturally aged polystyrene microplastics showed different sorption behavior for nine PFAS compounds compared to virgin microplastics, with environmental aging altering the physicochemical properties that determine how strongly microplastics bind these 'forever chemicals' in seawater.

2024 Heliyon 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of some hazardous aromatic hydrocarbons by various pristine and heat-activated aged microplastics as potential pollutant carriers in aquatic environment

Researchers examined how pristine and heat-aged microplastics of four polymer types adsorb hazardous aromatic hydrocarbons, finding that aging significantly altered adsorption capacity. The results demonstrate that weathered microplastics may act as more effective pollutant vectors than pristine particles in aquatic environments.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology