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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to New sight of microplastics aging: Reducing agents promote rapid aging of microplastics under anoxic conditions
ClearProbing the aging process and mechanism of microplastics under reduction conditions
Researchers investigated how microplastics age under oxygen-depleted reduction conditions rather than the more commonly studied oxidative environments, finding that reduction conditions still alter microplastic surface properties and may affect their environmental behavior in anaerobic sediments and deep waters.
Modulating oxidative capacity to simultaneously enhance microplastics aging and reduce adsorption performance: A novel approach to environmental remediation
Researchers developed a method that modulates oxidative capacity during microplastic aging to simultaneously generate oxygen-containing surface groups—which increase pollutant adsorption—while degrading the plastic particles, combining aging and degradation in a single process.
Microplastic aging processes: Environmental relevance and analytical implications
Researchers reviewed how microplastics change physically and chemically over time in the environment — a process called 'aging' — and found that standard lab methods for detecting microplastics were mostly developed using fresh, unaged plastics, making it harder to accurately measure real-world contamination. Improved analytical methods that account for aged microplastics are needed for reliable environmental assessment.
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.
Aging behavior of microplastics accelerated by mechanical fragmentation: alteration of intrinsic and extrinsic properties
Researchers mechanically fragmented polystyrene, polypropylene, and PET microplastics to simulate environmental aging, finding that fragmentation alters surface chemistry, crystallinity, and heavy metal adsorption capacity, with aging degree measurable through structural changes.
Microplastics aged in various environmental media exhibited strong sorption to heavy metals in seawater
Researchers aged six types of microplastics — including polyamide and PET — in different environments and then measured their adsorption of heavy metals in seawater, finding that aging consistently increased metal sorption capacity and that environmental medium during aging strongly influenced the degree of surface modification.
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.
Enhanced aging of polystyrene microplastics in sediments under alternating anoxic-oxic conditions
Researchers discovered that alternating anoxic-oxic conditions in sediments significantly enhanced the aging and degradation of polystyrene microplastics, challenging the assumption that microplastic aging is limited to sunlit areas.
The Overlooked Driver of Microplastic Chemical Oxidation in Cold Soils: Reactive Oxygen Species Generation Mediated by Freeze–Thaw Cycles
Researchers found that freeze-thaw cycles selectively oxidize microplastics containing conjugated aromatic structures such as PET and polystyrene through reactive oxygen species generation during the initial freezing phase, while non-aromatic polymers like polyethylene and polyamide undergo no oxidative aging under the same conditions.
Photoaging mechanisms of microplastics mediated by dissolved organic matter in an iron-rich aquatic environment
Researchers investigated how dissolved organic matter and iron mediate the photoaging of PVC and PET microplastics, finding that humic acid and iron accelerate surface degradation and alter the environmental behavior and risks of aged microplastics.
New insights on aging mechanism of microplastics using PARAFAC analysis: Impact on 4-nitrophenol removal via Statistical Physics Interpretation
Aging of PET microplastics under Fenton oxidation and seawater conditions produced different surface changes, and aged particles showed enhanced adsorption of 4-nitrophenol compared to virgin PET, suggesting that environmental weathering increases the capacity of microplastics to carry organic contaminants.
Understanding the hazards induced by microplastics in different environmental conditions
Researchers subjected four common plastic types to accelerated aging under UV light, enzyme exposure, and seawater conditions to understand how environmental stress transforms microplastics. They found that seawater conditions caused the greatest size reduction, with polyethylene shrinking by over 87%, along with significant chemical changes including the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups. The study suggests that environmentally weathered microplastics, particularly polyethylene exposed to ocean conditions, may pose greater potential health hazards than pristine particles.
TheOverlooked Driver of Microplastic Chemical Oxidationin Cold Soils: Reactive Oxygen Species Generation Mediated by Freeze–ThawCycles
Researchers found that freeze-thaw cycles drive the oxidative aging of aromatic microplastics — including PET, PLA-PBAT, and polystyrene — in cold soils by generating reactive oxygen species such as singlet oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, a mechanism absent in non-aromatic polymers like polyethylene and polyamide.
Effect of oxygen-containing functional groups on the micromechanical behavior of biodegradable plastics and their formation of microplastics during aging
Researchers compared how biodegradable and non-biodegradable plastics form microplastics during aging, focusing on the role of oxygen-containing functional groups. They found that biodegradable plastics are more prone to generating microplastics in a short time, and that oxygenated functional group formation is a key indicator of this process. The study reveals that micromechanical property changes during aging are closely linked to the evolution of these chemical groups, providing insights for assessing microplastic formation risk.
A review on enriched microplastics in environment: From the perspective of their aging impact and associate risk
This review explores what happens to microplastics as they age in the environment over long periods. Researchers found that natural weathering changes the physical and chemical properties of microplastics in ways that may increase their ability to harbor harmful microorganisms and interact with other pollutants, suggesting that aging may actually make microplastic pollution more hazardous over time rather than less.
Interactions between polypropylene microplastics (PP-MPs) and humic acid influenced by aging of MPs
Researchers examined how aging affects polypropylene microplastic interactions with humic acid, finding that aged microplastics with increased surface oxygen groups showed stronger adsorption of humic acid compared to pristine particles, altering their environmental behavior.
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.
Review of the artificially-accelerated aging technology and ecological risk of microplastics
This review examines laboratory methods used to artificially age microplastics to simulate long-term environmental weathering, including UV light, chemical oxidation, heat, and radiation treatments. Researchers found that aging generally increases the environmental risks of microplastics by making them easier for organisms to ingest, enhancing their ability to interact with other pollutants, and triggering the release of chemical additives. The study calls for more realistic aging methods that better simulate the complex conditions microplastics face in natural environments.
Aging assessment of microplastics (LDPE, PET and uPVC) under urban environment stressors
Researchers aged LDPE, PET, and uPVC microplastics using ozone, UV-C, and solar radiation to simulate urban environmental stressors, finding that each aging agent produced distinct changes in surface morphology, chemical structure, and crystallinity that could alter particle behavior in the environment.
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.
The Ultraviolet Irradiation Aging Characteristics of Microplastics in Soil under the Action of Biochar
Researchers characterized how microplastics change physically and chemically under ultraviolet irradiation aging, documenting surface cracking, yellowing, and shifts in chemical functional groups. These aging signatures are important for understanding the environmental fate and increased toxicity of weathered microplastics.
Surface deoxygenation via electron beam/oxidant treatment: A novel pathway to reduce pollutant adsorption on aged microplastics
Researchers developed a novel electron beam combined with oxidant treatment to artificially age microplastic surfaces, achieving rapid generation of oxygen-containing functional groups that enhanced pollutant adsorption capacity while also initiating plastic degradation.
Aging behavior of biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics accelerated by UV/H2O2 processes
Researchers used UV and hydrogen peroxide to simulate environmental aging of biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics, finding that PLA microplastics undergo significant surface and structural changes during weathering that alter their environmental behavior and persistence.
Sulfide- and UV-induced aging differentially affect contaminant-binding properties of microplastics derived from commercial plastic products
Researchers found that sulfide- and UV-induced aging of microplastics differentially alter their ability to bind environmental contaminants, with sulfide treatment particularly enhancing chromium adsorption through thiol group formation and both processes increasing PET adsorption capacity through particle flattening.