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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to The Reactivity of Polyethylene Microplastics in Water under Low Oxygen Conditions Using Radiation Chemistry
ClearInvestigations into the Reactivity of Microplastics in Water
Researchers investigated how hydroxyl radicals — naturally occurring reactive molecules in water — chemically transform microplastics, finding that radiation-generated radicals can break plastic bonds and alter their surface properties. Understanding microplastic chemical reactivity in water is important for predicting how environmental degradation changes their biological effects.
Insights into Plastic Degradation Processes in Marine Environment by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study
Researchers used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to analyze how polystyrene and polyethylene plastics break down under UV radiation in fresh and marine water. They found that UV exposure caused surface oxidation and chemical changes that weaken the plastic structure, ultimately leading to fragmentation into smaller particles. The study provides detailed insight into the chemical mechanisms that turn larger plastic debris into microplastics in ocean environments.
Degradation of polyethylene microplastics in seawater: Insights into the environmental degradation of polymers
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics degrade in artificial seawater and found that exposure led to surface oxidation, cracking, and fragmentation over time. The study suggests that environmental degradation of microplastics in marine settings may generate progressively smaller particles, including nanoplastics, while also releasing chemical additives into surrounding waters.
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.
Probing 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.
Unfolding the interaction of radioactive Cs and Sr with polyethylene-derived microplastics in marine environment
Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics in the marine environment interact with radioactive cesium and strontium. They found that as microplastics age in seawater and develop biofilms, their ability to absorb these radioactive elements increases significantly. The study provides evidence that microplastics could act as previously unrecognized carriers of radioactive contamination in ocean environments.
From macroplastics to microplastics: Role of water in the fragmentation of polyethylene
Laboratory photodegradation experiments compared how polyethylene plastic films fragment in water versus air under UV light, finding that the aquatic environment significantly influences the physical and chemical breakdown of plastic into microplastics. The study improves understanding of how water immersion changes the photodegradation pathways of floating and submerged plastic debris.
Investigation of Surface Alteration of Microplastics by Using UV Irradiation
UV radiation causes polystyrene and other plastic microparticles to undergo photooxidative degradation, changing their surface chemistry and potentially making them more likely to adsorb or release chemical pollutants. Understanding these weathering processes is important for predicting the environmental behavior and toxicity of microplastics.
Changes in the Chemical Composition of Polyethylene Terephthalate under UV Radiation in Various Environmental Conditions.
Researchers exposed polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to UV radiation under controlled humidity conditions and tracked changes in its chemical composition, finding progressive oxidation and chain scission that alter the polymer's surface properties. Understanding how PET degrades under UV exposure is important for predicting how PET microplastics form and what chemical changes make them more or less bioavailable.
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Combined with Reactive Oxygen Species Reveals Differences in Photoreactivity of Dissolved Organic Matter from Microplastic Sources in Aqueous Environments
Researchers analyzed the dissolved organic matter that different types of microplastics release into water and how it reacts with sunlight. Plastics with aromatic structures like polystyrene and PET released compounds that broke down faster and generated more reactive oxygen species than polyethylene or polypropylene. Understanding how different plastics chemically alter water quality is important because these released compounds and reactive species can affect aquatic life and the safety of water sources used by people.
Comparison of surficial modification of micro-sized polyethylenein between by UV/O3 and UVO submerged system
Researchers compared ozone and UV oxidation methods for chemically modifying the surface of polyethylene microplastics in water, finding that different treatment combinations create distinct surface changes. Understanding how weathering alters microplastic surfaces is important for predicting their environmental behavior and toxicity.
Molecular Signatures of Dissolved Organic Matter Generated from the Photodissolution of Microplastics in Sunlit Seawater
Researchers incubated polyethylene, polypropylene, and expanded polystyrene microplastics in sunlit seawater and characterized the dissolved organic matter produced as the plastics broke down. The study found that sunlight generated hundreds of unique oxygen-containing chemical products from each plastic type, while virtually none were produced in the dark. Evidence indicates that a single process, photodegradation, can transform simple plastic polymers into a complex array of dissolved organic chemicals in ocean environments.
Photodegradation of PET plastics produces persistent compounds that accumulate in sediments
Researchers investigated the photodegradation of polyethylene terephthalate plastics and found that UV-driven breakdown produces persistent low-molecular-weight compounds that accumulate in sediments, raising concerns about the long-term chemical legacy of PET waste in aquatic environments.
Estimation of the age of polyethylene microplastics collected from oceans: Application to the western North Pacific Ocean
Scientists developed a method to estimate how long polyethylene microplastics have been floating in the ocean by measuring their chemical degradation level and matching it to UV exposure data. They applied this technique to samples from the western North Pacific and estimated ages ranging from months to years. Knowing the age of ocean microplastics helps researchers trace where plastic pollution originates and how far ocean currents carry it.
Photo-induced degradation of single-use polyethylene terephthalate microplastics under laboratory and outdoor environmental conditions
Researchers tested how sunlight, water, and physical wear work together to break down PET microplastics, the type commonly found in plastic bottles and food packaging. Over 60 days, combined UV light and water exposure caused significant chemical degradation of the plastic surfaces. This matters because as microplastics break down in the environment, they release smaller fragments and potentially harmful chemicals that are easier for organisms to absorb.
Long-term phototransformation of microplastics under simulated sunlight irradiation in aquatic environments: Roles of reactive oxygen species
Researchers examined the long-term photodegradation of polystyrene microplastics under simulated sunlight in aquatic conditions, finding that reactive oxygen species — particularly hydroxyl radicals and singlet oxygen — were the primary drivers of surface oxidation and fragmentation into nanoplastics.
Thermal oxidation, ultraviolet radiation, and mechanical abrasion - understanding mechanisms of microplastic generation and chemical transformation
Researchers evaluated how consumer-derived polymers fragment and chemically transform when exposed to UV radiation or thermal oxidation followed by soil abrasion. The study found that these combined weathering processes, which mimic real-world environmental conditions, significantly affect the rate and type of microplastic generation. The results highlight how everyday use and environmental exposure work together to break down plastics into microplastic particles.
Comparison of sulfide-induced transformation of biodegradable and conventional microplastics: Mechanism and environmental fate
Researchers compared how sulfide chemicals in oxygen-free environments (like deep sediments) transform biodegradable plastics versus conventional plastics. They found that biodegradable PBAT microplastics were more easily changed by sulfides than conventional polyethylene, releasing more dissolved organic carbon and potentially different environmental effects. This suggests that so-called biodegradable plastics may not behave as safely as expected when they break down in certain natural environments.
Degradation of polypropylene : proportion of microplastics formed and assessment of their density.
Researchers quantified the proportion of microplastics generated during UV-driven degradation of polypropylene and assessed changes in chemical composition caused by photooxidation. The study found that UV exposure progressively fragments polypropylene and alters its surface chemistry, affecting subsequent environmental behavior and toxicity.
To what extent are microplastics from the open ocean weathered?
Researchers collected plastic debris from the North Atlantic subtropical gyre and analyzed its physical and chemical weathering, finding that most particles showed signs of significant UV-induced oxidation. Understanding the degree of weathering is important because it affects how plastics interact with organisms and how easily they fragment further into nanoplastics.
Seeping plastics: Potentially harmful molecular fragments leaching out from microplastics during accelerated ageing in seawater
Researchers conducted accelerated aging experiments on four common plastic types in seawater to study the chemical compounds they release as they degrade. The study found that aging microplastics leach potentially harmful molecular fragments into the surrounding water, demonstrating that microplastics are not inert pollutants but chemically reactive materials that release degradation byproducts over time.
Chemical Synthesis and Environmental Characterization of Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastics: A comprehensive Analysis of Degradation Mechanisms in the Red Sea Coastal Environment
Researchers synthesized PET microplastics via controlled melt polymerization and compared them with 16 environmental samples from five sites along the Red Sea coast of Jeddah, finding significant oxidative degradation and hydrolytic chain scission in field samples accelerated by high temperature, alkaline pH, and elevated salinity.
Contaminant release from aged microplastic
Researchers exposed recycled plastic granules of polyethylene, PVC, and polystyrene to simulated aging conditions including UV radiation and high temperatures. They found that aging significantly increased the rate at which chemical additives leached from the plastic particles into water, with UV exposure having the greatest effect. The study highlights that weathered microplastics in the environment may release harmful chemicals at much higher rates than fresh plastic materials.
Observation of the degradation of three types of plastic pellets exposed to UV irradiation in three different environments
Researchers exposed three types of plastic pellets to UV light in seawater, freshwater, and air to observe how they degrade in different environments. They found that chemical changes like the formation of new molecular groups occurred at different rates depending on the surrounding medium, with air and freshwater conditions causing more chemical weathering. The study highlights that plastic degradation in the ocean follows different pathways than on land, which matters for understanding how microplastics form and persist in marine environments.