Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Surface physicochemical properties and dibutyl phthalate adsorption of microplastics naturally aged in seawater

This study characterized polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics after one week of natural aging in seawater and measured their adsorption of dibutyl phthalate, a common plasticizer. Natural aging modified microplastic surfaces significantly, altering their adsorption capacity for phthalate contaminants compared to pristine particles.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption behavior and mechanism of hydrophilic organic chemicals to virgin and aged microplastics in freshwater and seawater

UV-accelerated aging of polystyrene and PVC microplastics increased surface oxidation and introduced microcracks, and aged MPs showed significantly increased adsorption of the hydrophilic antibiotic ciprofloxacin compared to virgin MPs. The findings demonstrate that even hydrophilic organic chemicals can accumulate on aged microplastics, expanding the range of compounds that microplastics may carry and deliver to organisms.

2018 Environmental Pollution 1012 citations
Article Tier 2

Desorption ofBisphenol A and Dibutyl Phthalate fromthe Surfaces of Polyamide Microplastics: Crucial Role of Hydrophobicity

Researchers investigated the desorption of bisphenol A and dibutyl phthalate from polyamide microplastics in freshwater, finding hydrophobicity as the primary driver of plasticizer release. Aging of microplastics via NaClO, Fenton, and UV treatments altered surface properties and modified the desorption behavior of both contaminants under varying water chemistry conditions.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Desorption of Bisphenol A and Dibutyl Phthalate from the Surfaces of Polyamide Microplastics: Crucial Role of Hydrophobicity

Researchers investigated the desorption of bisphenol A and dibutyl phthalate from polyamide microplastics in freshwater, finding that hydrophobicity is the primary controlling factor in plasticizer release rates. Aging treatments including NaClO, Fenton, and UV exposure altered microplastic surface properties and subsequently modified desorption behavior of both contaminants.

2025 ACS ES&T Water
Article Tier 2

Adsorption and Desorption Behaviour of Polychlorinated Biphenyls onto Microplastics’ Surfaces in Water/Sediment Systems

Researchers evaluated the adsorption and desorption behavior of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) onto polystyrene, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics of varying sizes in marine water/sediment systems. Results showed that polymer type and particle size influenced PCB binding capacity, with microplastics acting as potential vectors for transferring persistent organic pollutants to marine biota through the food chain.

2020 Toxics 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between microplastics and phthalate esters as affected by microplastics characteristics and solution chemistry

The sorption of two phthalate esters onto polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene microplastics was studied under varying conditions, finding that sorption was influenced by polymer type, phthalate structure, temperature, salinity, and dissolved organic matter. The results provide mechanistic insight into how microplastics accumulate endocrine-disrupting phthalates from the environment.

2018 Chemosphere 278 citations
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

Sorption and dissipation of current-use pesticides and personal-care products on high-density polyethylene microplastics in seawater

Researchers characterized how three pesticides and three personal care products sorb onto high-density polyethylene microplastics in seawater. They found that more hydrophobic compounds accumulated more readily on the plastic, and that significant desorption (over 30%) occurred within 24 hours, especially at higher contaminant concentrations. The study confirms that microplastics can act as both carriers and releasers of chemical pollutants in marine environments.

2025 Environmental Research 5 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

Yellowing, Weathering and Degradation of Marine Pellets and Their Influence on the Adsorption of Chemical Pollutants

Marine plastic pellets collected after prolonged ocean exposure showed yellowing, surface cracking, and chemical degradation compared to virgin pellets, and these weathered plastics adsorbed significantly higher concentrations of persistent organic pollutants. The study demonstrates that environmental aging increases microplastics' capacity to act as vectors for chemical contaminants.

2022 Polymers 56 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

Impact of microplastic addition on degradation of dibutyl phthalate in offshore sediments

Adding small amounts of polypropylene and polystyrene microplastics to marine sediments slightly enhanced breakdown of the plasticizer dibutyl phthalate, but higher concentrations inhibited degradation. The findings suggest microplastics alter the chemical fate of co-occurring pollutants in ocean sediments by affecting sorption and microbial communities.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging mechanism of microplastics with UV irradiation and its effects on the adsorption of heavy metals

Researchers aged polystyrene microplastics using UV irradiation under three conditions (air, pure water, seawater) and found that aging changed surface chemistry and increased the microplastics' capacity to adsorb heavy metals, with seawater aging producing the most pronounced surface oxidation.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 852 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 178 citations
Article Tier 2

The sorption behaviour of amine micropollutants on polyethylene microplastics – impact of aging and interactions with green seaweed

Researchers studied how long-term aging of polyethylene microplastics changes their ability to bind organic pollutants (amine micropollutants), and how interactions with green seaweed affect this process. Aged microplastics showed different sorption behavior than fresh ones, which has implications for how effectively they transport contaminants through aquatic food webs.

2020 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 28 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 of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers by Virgin and Aged Microplastics].

This study examined how environmental aging under UV light changes the ability of polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics to adsorb polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), common flame retardant chemicals. Aged microplastics showed altered sorption capacity compared to virgin particles, affecting how these toxic chemicals are transported in aquatic environments.

2020 PubMed 12 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

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

Microplastics as potential bisphenol carriers: role of adsorbents, adsorbates, and environmental factors

Laboratory experiments showed that four common microplastic types — polystyrene, polypropylene, polyamide, and PVC — all readily adsorb bisphenols (BPA, BPB, BPF, BPS), with polyamide showing the highest capacity. Adsorption was strongly influenced by polymer surface chemistry, bisphenol hydrophobicity, temperature, and salinity. Because bisphenols are potent endocrine disruptors, microplastics acting as their environmental carriers could amplify human and wildlife exposure through contaminated seafood and drinking water.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polymer aging on sorption of 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether by polystyrene microplastics

Researchers investigated how different aging processes — seawater soaking, UV irradiation, and their combination — affect the sorption of the brominated flame retardant BDE-47 onto polystyrene microplastics, finding that aging altered sorption capacity and that environmental factors including salinity, pH, and dissolved organic matter further modulated contaminant uptake.

2020 Chemosphere 107 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
Article Tier 2

Seasonal variation and spatial distribution of microplastics in tertiary wastewater treatment plant in South Korea

Researchers studied the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) onto weathered polypropylene microplastics in seawater, finding that weathering increased surface area and adsorption capacity compared to pristine particles. This suggests environmental aging enhances microplastics as vectors for hydrophobic pollutants.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption and desorption of parachlormetaxylenol by aged microplastics and molecular mechanism

This study examined adsorption and desorption of the antimicrobial compound parachlormetaxylenol on aged microplastics, finding that aging increases adsorption capacity and that desorption behavior depends on plastic type and environmental conditions.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 7 citations