Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Unveiling the adsorption mechanism of perfluorooctane sulfonate onto polypropylene nanoplastics: A combined theoretical and experimental investigation

Researchers combined computer simulations with lab experiments to understand how PFOS, a widespread "forever chemical," attaches to polypropylene nanoplastic particles in water. They found that PFOS binds readily to the plastic surface, and the resulting combination moves more easily through water than the plastic particle alone, making it potentially more dangerous. Changes in water acidity (pH) can affect how much PFOS sticks to the plastic, influencing how these pollutants travel together through the environment.

2025 Water Research 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Thermodynamic Properties for the Sorption of Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid in Microplastics: A Molecular Simulation Study

Using molecular simulation, researchers calculated the thermodynamic parameters governing adsorption of PFAS compounds onto various microplastic types, finding that PFAS-microplastic binding is spontaneous and exothermic, confirming microplastics as efficient environmental vectors for PFAS transport.

2025
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic Insights into PFAS Adsorption on Microplastics: Effects of Contaminant Properties and Water Chemistry

Researchers investigated how two widely detected PFAS compounds, PFOS and PFOA, adsorb onto five common types of microplastics in aquatic environments. The study found that contaminant properties and water chemistry significantly influence adsorption behavior, confirming that microplastics can serve as carriers for PFAS transport in waterways.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of PFAS onto secondary microplastics: A mechanistic study

Researchers investigated how PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) adsorb onto secondary microplastics under different water chemistry conditions. Results showed that PFAS adsorption depended on both the chemical structure of the PFAS compound and the ionic composition of the water. These findings help explain how microplastics in real-world aquatic environments can concentrate and transport PFAS, a group of persistent health-relevant pollutants.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Fluorocarbon Chain Length in the Adsorption of Perfluoroalkyl Substances on Nanoplastic Particles

Adsorption experiments found that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) adsorbed onto oppositely charged nanoplastics with affinity increasing with fluorocarbon chain length (C4 < C6 < C8), causing charge neutralization, aggregation, and altered colloidal stability in aquatic environments.

2024 ACS ES&T Water 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of perfluoroalkyl substances on polyamide microplastics: Effect of sorbent and influence of environmental factors

Researchers studied how perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of persistent industrial chemicals, bind to polyamide microplastics in water. They found that smaller microplastic particles absorbed dramatically more PFAS than larger ones, and that water chemistry conditions like pH and salinity influenced the process. The findings suggest microplastics can concentrate harmful chemicals and potentially increase human and wildlife exposure to PFAS in contaminated environments.

2022 Environmental Research 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of perfluoroalkyl substances on microplastics under environmental conditions

Researchers examined the capacity of three types of microplastics to sorb 18 perfluoroalkyl substances from freshwater and seawater. They found that perfluorosulfonates and sulfonamides had the strongest tendency to adsorb onto microplastics, with polystyrene showing greater affinity for these chemicals than polyethylene. The study suggests that microplastics in aquatic environments can concentrate harmful PFAS compounds, potentially increasing exposure for organisms that ingest them.

2018 Environmental Pollution 342 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic adsorption characteristics of bisphenol A: The roles of pH, metal ions, and suspended sediments

Researchers found that nanoplastics adsorb bisphenol A through electrostatic, pi-pi stacking, and hydrophobic interactions, with adsorption capacity influenced by pH, competing metal ions, and suspended sediments, highlighting nanoplastics as vectors for BPA transport in aquatic environments.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling PFAS-Microplastic Interactions : in-Depth Insights Gained Through Laboratory Experiments and Computational Modeling Approaches

This master's thesis investigates the interactions between PFAS chemicals and microplastics using laboratory experiments and computational modelling approaches, providing in-depth insights into adsorption dynamics and the co-transport potential of these two classes of environmental contaminants.

2025 Digital Library of the University of Innsbruck (University of Innsbruck)
Article Tier 2

An Atomic‐Level Perspective on the interactions between Organic Pollutants and PET particles: A Comprehensive Computational Investigation

Using advanced computational methods, researchers studied how organic pollutants interact with PET microplastic particles at the atomic level. The study found that pollutants bind to PET surfaces mainly through weak intermolecular forces, and that the specific chemical structure of both the pollutant and the plastic surface determines how strongly they attach.

2024 ChemPhysChem 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Review of Recent Computational Research on the Adsorption of PFASs with a Variety of Substrates

This review summarizes recent computer modeling research on how PFAS, sometimes called "forever chemicals," stick to various materials, which could help develop better cleanup methods. While focused on PFAS rather than microplastics, both are persistent environmental pollutants that resist breakdown and accumulate in the body. Understanding how these chemicals interact with surfaces at the molecular level could lead to more effective ways to remove them from contaminated water and soil.

2024 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular modeling to elucidate the dynamic interaction process and aggregation mechanism between natural organic matters and nanoplastics

Researchers used molecular modeling to understand how nanoplastics interact with natural organic matter found in water environments. They found that the chemical properties of both the plastic surface and the organic molecules determined whether they clumped together or remained dispersed. The study provides new molecular-level insights into how nanoplastics behave and spread in natural water systems, which is important for predicting their environmental fate.

2024 Eco-Environment & Health 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Uptake and release of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) from macro and microplastics

Researchers studied how perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids, a class of persistent PFAS chemicals, interact with both macro and microplastics in aquatic environments. They found that microplastics can adsorb and later release these harmful chemicals, with the interaction influenced by the amphiphilic properties of the contaminants. The findings suggest that microplastics may serve as carriers for PFAS contamination, potentially increasing exposure pathways for organisms in the environment.

2023 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Binding of Perfluoroalkyl Substances to Nanoplastic Protein Corona Is pH‐Dependent and Attenuates Their Bioavailability and Toxicity

Researchers investigated how pH affects the binding of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the protein corona that forms on nanoplastic surfaces in biological fluids. pH-dependent changes in protein corona composition significantly altered PFAS binding capacity, with implications for how nanoplastics transport PFAS in the body.

2024 Small Science
Article Tier 2

Sorption of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) using Polyethylene (PE) microplastics as adsorbent: Grand Canonical Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics (GCMC-MD) studies

Researchers used Grand Canonical Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations to model the sorption of seven PFAS compounds onto polyethylene microplastics, finding that longer-chain PFAS compounds exhibited stronger binding energies. The simulations revealed that hydrogen bonding and non-bond energy interactions were the primary sorption mechanisms, with PFOS showing the highest overall interaction energy.

2022 International Journal of Environmental & Analytical Chemistry 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular-Scale Insights into the Interactions between Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Polyethylene

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles called microplastics can strongly attract and hold onto toxic "forever chemicals" called PFAS, which are already found in drinking water and food. This means microplastics in our environment could act like sponges that collect these harmful chemicals and potentially transport them to new places, including into our bodies. The research helps explain why these two types of pollution might work together to create bigger health risks than either one alone.

2026 The Journal of Physical Chemistry B
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of PFAS onto secondary microplastics: A mechanistic study

Researchers studied how PFAS (toxic "forever chemicals") attach to microplastics that form when PET water bottles break down in the environment. They found that PFAS bonds to these microplastic surfaces within hours in both fresh and salt water, meaning microplastics can act as carriers for these harmful chemicals. This is concerning because people may be exposed to both microplastics and the dangerous chemicals hitchhiking on them through contaminated water.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 80 citations
Article Tier 2

A tale of two emerging contaminants: Interfacial interactions, co-transport behaviors and ecotoxicological implications between per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances and micro(nano)plastics.

This review examined how PFAS and micro/nanoplastics co-occur in the environment, form interfacial adsorption complexes, and interact synergistically within organisms. The authors found that the two contaminant classes amplify each other's toxicity in co-exposure scenarios and that their shared transport pathways complicate standard risk assessment.

2026 Advances in colloid and interface science
Review Tier 2

Interaction of microplastics with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water: A review of the fate, mechanisms and toxicity

This review examines how microplastics act as carriers for PFAS ("forever chemicals") in water, with the two pollutants interacting through various chemical mechanisms that affect their movement through the environment. The combined presence of microplastics and PFAS raises concerns about increased toxicity, since microplastics can transport these persistent chemicals into organisms and potentially concentrate their harmful effects.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Elucidating the co-transport of bisphenol A with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanoplastics: A theoretical study of the adsorption mechanism

Computational modeling of BPA adsorption onto PET nanoplastics revealed both inner and outer surface adsorption mechanisms driven by the nucleophilic outer surface of nanoPET, with maximum adsorption energies comparable to or higher than nano-carbon adsorbents, highlighting co-transport risk.

2020 Environmental Pollution 65 citations
Article Tier 2

A Thermodynamic Approach for Assessing the Environmental Exposure of Chemicals Absorbed to Microplastic

Researchers used thermodynamic and multimedia modeling to assess how microplastics influence the transport and bioavailability of persistent toxic substances in marine environments. The study suggests that chemicals with high hydrophobicity may partition to polyethylene microplastic, but overall, microplastic is likely of limited importance as a vector for delivering toxic substances to marine organisms compared to other exposure pathways.

2011 Environmental Science & Technology 461 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction mechanism of water-soluble inorganic arsenic onto pristine nanoplastics

Researchers used computational chemistry to model how water-soluble arsenic interacts with various types of nanoplastics including PET, polyamide, PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. The study found that arsenic can form stable surface layers on nanoplastics, suggesting these tiny plastic particles may serve as carriers for toxic metalloids in contaminated aquatic environments.

2024 Chemosphere 11 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A review on per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) in microplastic and food-contact materials

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) used as oil- and water-repellent coatings on food contact materials can migrate into food, and microplastics in aquatic environments can sorb and transport PFAS, though desorption processes remain poorly understood.

2021 Environmental Research 91 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the co-adsorption mechanism between nanoplastics and neonicotinoid insecticides from an atomistic perspective

Researchers used quantum chemistry calculations to reveal that nanoplastics made of polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, and polystyrene bind neonicotinoid insecticides (imidacloprid and clothianidin) primarily through electrostatic and dispersion forces, accounting for ~90% of complex stability, with implications for how these particles may alter pesticide fate in the environment.

2025 Journal of Molecular Modeling 5 citations