Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastic Properties Govern the Photodegradation of Sorbed Anthracene in Aquatic Environments

Researchers found that microplastic properties — including polymer type, surface chemistry, and aging state — govern the rate and pathway of solar photodegradation of sorbed anthracene in aquatic environments, with sorption to microplastics altering contaminant photochemical fate compared to free solution.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastic colour on photodegradation of sorbed contaminants

Researchers investigated how microplastic colour affects the photodegradation of sorbed contaminants, exposing anthracene-loaded polyethylene microplastics of four colours to UVA light and finding that unpigmented plastics degraded the contaminant fastest while white and blue pigmented plastics degraded it slowest, attributing differences to pigment light absorption profiles.

2025 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version) 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of microplastics on organotins’ photodegradation in aquatic environments

Researchers found that polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, and polymethyl methacrylate microplastics differentially affect the photodegradation of organotin compounds in aquatic environments, with microplastics both adsorbing organotins and altering their photolytic breakdown pathways depending on polymer type.

2020 Environmental Pollution 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on polyethylene microplastics

Researchers investigated the photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed onto polyethylene microplastics under natural sunlight conditions, finding that PAH concentrations on microplastic surfaces decreased over time due to photodegradation. The study provides first data on the environmental fate of PAH-microplastic complexes under realistic solar irradiation.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic properties and their interaction with hydrophobic organic contaminants: a review

This review examines the physical and chemical properties of microplastics that determine how they interact with hydrophobic organic contaminants in the environment. Researchers found that factors like polymer type, particle size, weathering, and surface chemistry all influence how strongly microplastics bind to co-occurring pollutants. The findings suggest that microplastics can serve as carriers for harmful chemicals, potentially increasing exposure risks for organisms that ingest them.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 169 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Temperature,Snow-Ice, Particle Size, andPolymer Type on Photolysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Adsorbedon Microplastics under UV Irradiation

Researchers investigated how temperature, snow-ice conditions, particle size, and polymer type affect the photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on microplastics under UV irradiation, finding that environmental variables substantially modulate PAH degradation rates on plastic surfaces.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Effect of Temperature,Snow-Ice, Particle Size, andPolymer Type on Photolysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Adsorbedon Microplastics under UV Irradiation

Researchers investigated how temperature, snow-ice conditions, particle size, and polymer type affect the photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorbed on microplastics under UV irradiation, finding that environmental variables substantially modulate PAH degradation rates on plastic surfaces.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Effect of Temperature, Snow-Ice, Particle Size, and Polymer Type on Photolysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Adsorbed on Microplastics under UV Irradiation

Researchers investigated how temperature, snow-ice cover, particle size, and polymer type influence the photolysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed onto microplastics under UV irradiation, finding that these environmental variables significantly affect PAH degradation rates and pathways.

2025 ACS ES&T Water
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 44 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 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
Article Tier 2

Enhanced malachite green photolysis at the colloidal-aqueous interface

This study found that microplastic particles in water can accelerate the breakdown of certain organic pollutants at the particle surface. The research suggests that microplastics play an underappreciated role in the environmental fate of chemical contaminants.

2021 Chemosphere 12 citations
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

Interactions between microplastics and organic compounds in aquatic environments: A mini review

Researchers reviewed the mechanisms of interaction between microplastics and organic compounds in aquatic environments, examining factors related to the plastics themselves, the organic compounds, and environmental conditions. The study found that properties like crystallinity, surface area, and weathering state of microplastics all influence how they adsorb and transport organic pollutants, with implications for environmental and health risk assessments.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 290 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 178 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into the photosensitivity and photobleaching of dissolved organic matter from microplastics: Structure-activity relationship and transformation mechanism

This study investigated the photosensitivity and photobleaching behavior of dissolved organic matter released from microplastics (MPDOM), examining how physicochemical properties of different plastics influence photoactivation and transformation. The structure-activity analysis revealed that MPDOM composition strongly determines its photoreactivity, affecting how microplastic-derived organic compounds interact with sunlight and generate reactive oxygen species in aquatic environments.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of polyethylene microplastics on the photocatalytic degradation of dibutyl phthalate and bisphenol A in an aqueous medium

Researchers investigated how the presence of polyethylene microplastics affects the photocatalytic degradation of dibenzothiophene, a common marine pollutant, under simulated sunlight. Microplastics altered the phototransformation pathway of the organic pollutant, potentially changing its bioavailability and toxicity in marine systems.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The fate of microplastics in the environment: Systematic studies to determine release rates of secondary micro- and nanoplastics and water-soluble organics induced by photolysis and hydrolysis

Researchers conducted systematic studies on the photolytic and hydrolytic degradation of microplastics using three photolysis protocols and multiple polymer types to determine release rates of secondary micro- and nanoplastics and water-soluble organics, providing mechanistic data needed for environmental fate and risk assessment.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The fate of microplastics in the environment: Systematic studies to determine release rates of secondary micro- and nanoplastics and water-soluble organics induced by photolysis and hydrolysis

Researchers conducted systematic studies on the photolytic and hydrolytic degradation of microplastics using three photolysis protocols and multiple polymer types to determine release rates of secondary micro- and nanoplastics and water-soluble organics, providing mechanistic data needed for environmental fate and risk assessment.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Photo-induced leaching behaviors and biodegradability of dissolved organic matter from microplastics and terrestrial-sourced particles

Researchers studied how light exposure causes microplastics and terrestrial particles to leach dissolved organic matter, and how this leachate behaves in the environment. The study found differences in the biodegradability of leachate from plastic versus natural sources, suggesting that microplastic-derived organic matter may persist differently in aquatic ecosystems.

2024 Chemosphere 18 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

Microplastics and organic contaminants: Investigation of the sorption process on different polymer types

Researchers investigated sorption of organic contaminants onto microplastics collected from environmental samples, finding that real-world MPs had different sorption capacities than laboratory-prepared particles due to surface aging, biofouling, and co-sorption of natural organic matter.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Photochemistry of microplastics-derived dissolved organic matter: Reactive species generation and organic pollutant degradation

Researchers investigated how dissolved organic matter released from degrading polystyrene and PVC microplastics behaves when exposed to sunlight in water. They found that sunlight breaks down the aromatic compounds in this plastic-derived material and generates reactive chemical species, though at lower rates than natural organic matter. Despite this, these reactive species significantly accelerated the breakdown of co-existing pollutants, suggesting that degrading microplastics may act as unexpected natural catalysts in aquatic environments.

2024 Water Research 34 citations