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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Formation Principles and Failure Mechanisms of Cyanate Ester Curing Networks
ClearMacro-, Micro- and Nanomechanical Characterization of Crosslinked Polymers with Very Broad Range of Mechanical Properties
This study compared the mechanical properties of crosslinked polymer networks at macro, micro, and nanoscale, finding that properties measured at different scales are highly correlated in well-defined systems. This materials science research is relevant to understanding how plastic polymers fracture and fragment under mechanical stress, a key step in microplastic formation.
Mechanism of Micro and Nanoplastics Formation from Semicrystalline Polymers
Researchers investigated the mechanism by which micro and nanoplastics form from semicrystalline polymers, examining the molecular-level bond-breaking processes triggered by environmental conditions that produce particles of progressively smaller sizes.
Mechanism of Quiescent Nanoplastic Formation from Semicrystalline Polymers
Researchers investigated the mechanism by which semicrystalline polymers spontaneously generate nanoplastics, finding that chain scission events accumulate in the amorphous phase between crystalline layers and lead to mechanical failure of the semicrystalline morphology, explaining how nanometer-scale bond-breaking events produce the relatively large micro- and nanoplastic fragments observed in the environment.
Molecular-Scale Understanding of the Embrittlement in Polyethylene Ocean Debris
Analysis of polyethylene ocean debris revealed that environmental weathering increases crystallinity while disrupting the lamellar structure of the polymer, causing embrittlement and eventual fragmentation into smaller pieces. Understanding this molecular-scale process helps explain how large plastic packaging breaks down into the microplastics found throughout marine environments.
Materials science underpinnings of micro and nanoplastics
This perspective paper explores the materials science behind how micro- and nanoplastics form and behave in the environment. Researchers highlight a major knowledge gap: the process by which molecular-level bond breaking leads to the creation of plastic fragments ranging from nanometers to millimeters in size is still poorly understood. The study calls for new measurement techniques that can accelerate aging experiments and better characterize these tiny particles.
Nanostructural changes in commodity polyethylene during environmental exposure
Researchers studied how polyethylene plastic packaging degrades at the molecular level during environmental exposure, finding that structural stress built up during manufacturing makes the material more prone to fragmentation. Understanding how plastics break apart is key to predicting microplastic generation rates.
A continuum damage mechanics model for fatigue and degradation of fiber reinforced materials
This engineering paper presents a mathematical model describing how fiber-reinforced materials degrade under repeated loading, using microplastic deformation as the driving mechanism for damage accumulation. It is a materials science study with no direct relevance to environmental plastic pollution or human health.
Analysis of fatigue crack initiation in cyclic microplasticity regime
This engineering study analyzed how fatigue cracks begin in metals under cyclic loading, focusing on microscale stress and material defects. It is a materials science paper not related to environmental microplastics.
Microplastic Strain Hysteresis Energy as a Criterion for Fatigue Fracture
This materials science paper proposes an energy-based fatigue failure criterion using microplastic strain hysteresis energy, developing a relation between stress amplitude and cycles to failure. 'Microplastic strain' refers to small-scale plastic deformation in metals during cyclic loading and has no connection to environmental plastic pollution.
Mechanism of quiescent nanoplastic formation from semicrystalline polymers
Researchers uncovered the mechanism by which semicrystalline polymers, which make up about 70% of commercial plastics, spontaneously release nanoplastic particles even without mechanical force. They found that chemical bond-breaking events concentrate in the non-crystalline regions of the plastic, eventually causing those layers to fail and release stacks of crystalline fragments as nanoplastics. This discovery helps explain why plastics continuously shed tiny particles into the environment under normal conditions.
Crack tip microplasticity mediated by microstructure gradients
This study examined how microstructural gradients near crack tips affect crack growth behavior in metals under mechanical loading. The research is focused on materials fracture mechanics and has no direct relevance to microplastic pollution.
Unraveling Aging Processes by Molecular Dynamics in High Impact Polystyrene/Organoclay Nanocomposites using Solid-State NMR to understand the microplastics generation
Using solid-state NMR spectroscopy, researchers investigated how UV-accelerated aging affects molecular mobility and morphology in high-impact polystyrene/organoclay nanocomposites, finding that clay loading level determines whether chain scission or recombination dominates and influences microplastic generation rates.
Effects of Isocyanate Structure on the Properties of Polyurethane: Synthesis, Performance, and Self-Healing Characteristics
This study compared five types of polyurethane made from different chemical building blocks to understand how their structure affects material properties and self-healing ability. Researchers found that the choice of isocyanate directly determines the material's strength, flexibility, thermal stability, and ability to repair itself. While not directly about microplastic pollution, polyurethane is a major source of microplastics in the environment, and understanding its material properties is relevant to predicting how it breaks down.
Discontinuous yielding of pristine micro-crystals
This theoretical physics paper develops a model for crystal deformation in dislocation-free materials. While not related to environmental science or microplastics, the work contributes to materials science research on plastic deformation at the microscale.
Variety of scaling behaviors in nanocrystalline plasticity
This is a materials science study examining the variety of scaling behaviors observed in nanocrystalline plasticity, exploring how grain size affects deformation mechanisms in metals. It is not related to environmental microplastics.
Adaptation of the Microplane Constitutive Model for Brittle-plastic Glassy Polymers
This engineering study adapted a microplane constitutive model, originally developed for concrete, to simulate the mechanical damage behavior of glassy polymers under tension and compression. The model accurately captures deformation behaviors including post-peak hardening and softening in brittle-plastic polymer materials.
Crazing of nanocomposites with polymer-tethered nanoparticles
Using computer simulations, researchers studied how polymer-coated nanoparticles affect the way plastic composites crack and deform under stress. This is a materials science study focused on improving industrial polymers, with no direct connection to microplastic pollution or environmental health effects.
Crack nucleation using combined crystal plasticity modelling, high-resolution digital image correlation and high-resolution electron backscatter diffraction in a superalloy containing non-metallic inclusions under fatigue
This materials engineering study combined crystal plasticity modeling with high-resolution microscopy to understand how fatigue cracks form near non-metallic inclusions in nickel superalloys. The research addresses durability of industrial alloy components and is not related to microplastics research.
From cracks to secondary microplastics - surface characterization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) during weathering
Scientists tracked how PET plastic, the material used in water bottles and clothing, develops cracks and eventually breaks into microplastics during exposure to UV light and water. Different forms of PET broke down in different ways and at different speeds, with water-submerged samples showing organized crack networks within 30 days. The study helps explain how everyday plastic products fragment into the microplastics found throughout the environment, with fibers being one of the most common shapes produced.
Role of Structural Morphology of Commodity Polymers in Microplastics and Nanoplastics Formation: Fragmentation, Effects and Associated Toxicity in the Aquatic Environment
This review examines how the structural morphology and chemical composition of commodity polymers influence the formation and environmental behaviour of microplastics and nanoplastics, arguing that chemical degradation pathways have been largely overlooked in favour of purely physical abrasion explanations for plastic fragmentation.
Fracture of Epoxy Matrixes Modified with Thermo-Plastic Polymers and Winding Glass Fibers Reinforced Plastics on Their Base under Low-Velocity Impact Condition
This paper is not about microplastics — it investigates the mechanical and fracture properties of epoxy composites reinforced with thermoplastic polymers and glass fibers.
Microplastics: From Intrinsic Properties to Environmental Fate
This review examines how the built-in properties of plastics — their chemical structure, additives, and molecular weight — determine how quickly they break down in the environment and what happens when they do. As microplastics degrade, they fragment into even smaller particles that may be more harmful because they can more easily enter living organisms. Understanding these degradation pathways is essential for predicting the long-term environmental and health risks of plastic pollution.
Dislocation Arrangements and Cyclic Microplasticity Surrounding Stress Concentration in a Ni‐Based Single‐Crystal Superalloy
Not relevant to microplastics — this materials science study examines dislocation behavior and fatigue crack initiation in nickel-based single-crystal superalloys; 'microplasticity' here refers to microscale metal deformation, not plastic particles.
From Micro‐ to Macroplasticity
This materials science perspective discusses the transition from microplastic deformation (below the yield stress) to macroplastic deformation in nanocrystalline metals, noting that the traditional 0.2% yield stress definition does not accurately capture when bulk plastic flow begins. This is a materials physics study on metal deformation behavior with no relevance to environmental microplastics.