Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Carbon-based adsorbents for micro/nano-plastics removal: current advances and perspectives

Scientists reviewed how carbon-based materials like graphene, activated carbon, and carbon nanotubes can be used to remove micro- and nanoplastics from water. Researchers found that these adsorbents show strong potential for capturing tiny plastic particles thanks to their tunable surface properties and high surface area. The study suggests that carbon-based filtration could become an important technology for cleaning microplastic-contaminated water.

2024 Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of carbon-based adsorbents in the remediation of micro- and nanoplastics

This review summarizes how carbon-based materials like activated carbon, biochar, and carbon nanotubes can be used to remove micro and nanoplastics from water through adsorption. These materials are attractive because they are low-cost, eco-friendly, and can be modified to improve their plastic-capturing ability. Better water filtration materials could help reduce the amount of microplastics that reach people through drinking water and food preparation.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 36 citations
Article Tier 2

New Method of Fabricating Carbon Materials via Uptake of Nanoplastics into Eichhornia crassipes for Enhancing Supercapacitance

Researchers used water hyacinth plants that had absorbed polystyrene nanoplastics as a raw material to produce high-performance carbon electrodes for energy storage. While the study is primarily about materials engineering, it demonstrates a novel approach to removing nanoplastics from water using plants and converting the contaminated biomass into a useful product, potentially addressing two environmental problems at once.

2023 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Designing super-fast trimodal sponges using recycled polypropylene for organics cleanup

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper develops a trimodal sponge from recycled polypropylene for absorbing oil spills, focusing on sorption kinetics and capacity for environmental remediation of hydrocarbon contaminants.

2023 Scientific Reports 11 citations
Article Tier 2

The role and significance of graphene oxide in the remediation of micro- and nanoplastics from the environment

This review examines how graphene oxide, a carbon-based material with a very large surface area, can be used to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from water. Graphene oxide showed impressive removal capacity for polystyrene microplastics through adsorption. The technology could be an important tool for developing more effective water treatment systems that protect people from microplastic contamination.

2025 RSC Advances 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanically durable anti-bacteria non-fluorinated superhydrophobic sponge for highly efficient and fast microplastic and oil removal

A superhydrophobic sponge was engineered to selectively remove microplastics and oil from water, achieving high removal efficiency while also demonstrating antibacterial properties. The material maintained its performance across repeated use cycles, offering a promising approach for practical water treatment applications.

2022 Chemosphere 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Theoretical and experimental investigation on rapid and efficient adsorption characteristics of microplastics by magnetic sponge carbon

Researchers developed a magnetic sponge carbon material that demonstrated rapid and efficient adsorption of microplastics from water, with both theoretical modeling and experiments confirming strong removal capacity driven by magnetic and porous structural properties.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollutants in water: A comprehensive review on their remediation by adsorption using various adsorbents

This review covers the different materials scientists are developing to filter microplastics out of water, including biochar, activated carbon, sponges, carbon nanotubes, and newer hybrid materials. Each material has trade-offs in terms of cost, effectiveness, and environmental impact, but combining different approaches shows the most promise. The research is important because better water filtration methods could directly reduce the amount of microplastics people consume through drinking water.

2024 Chemosphere 67 citations
Article Tier 2

9 Carbon composites in the mitigation of micro and nanoplastics

This review evaluates how carbon-based composite materials — including activated carbon and graphene derivatives — can be used to remove micro- and nanoplastics from water through adsorption, chemical binding, and photocatalytic degradation. Carbon composites show strong potential as versatile remediation tools, though scaling these technologies to real-world water treatment applications remains a key challenge.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon Nanocomposite for Purification of Man-Made Polluted Waters

Researchers developed a nanocomposite sorbent combining magnetically responsive thermally expanded graphite with natural clay to address the multicomponent challenge of purifying water contaminated with oil products, heavy metals, radionuclides, and micro- and nanoplastics simultaneously.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Carbon composites in the mitigation of micro and nanoplastics

This review examines how carbon composites -- including activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and biochar-based materials -- can mitigate micro and nanoplastic pollution through physical adsorption, chemical binding, and photocatalytic degradation, analyzing the mechanisms, limitations, and scalability challenges of these approaches across field and laboratory studies.

2024 Physical Sciences Reviews
Article Tier 2

Importance and Contribution of Carbon Allotropes in a Green and Sustainable Environment

This review examines how carbon allotropes (like graphene and carbon nanotubes) can contribute to environmental sustainability by enabling cleaner industrial processes and pollution remediation. Advanced carbon materials are being explored for applications including the removal of microplastics from water.

2023
Article Tier 2

Interfacial Engineering of Ti3C2Tx MXene Electrode Using g-C3N4 Nanosheets for High-Performance Supercapacitor in Neutral Electrolyte

Researchers engineered a supercapacitor electrode by combining MXene nanosheets with protonated carbon nitride to improve energy storage performance in neutral electrolytes. The modified electrode showed significantly increased capacitance and stability compared to plain MXene. While not directly about microplastics, this materials science advancement contributes to sustainable energy storage technologies that could support environmental monitoring and remediation efforts.

2024 ACS Omega 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Adsorption of Polystyrene Microplastics in Aqueous Media Using PET-C Synthesized from Plastic Waste: DFT and Experimental Studies

Researchers converted PET plastic waste into activated carbon (PET-C) via direct carbonisation and KOH activation, then tested it for adsorbing polystyrene microplastics. PET-C achieved a maximum adsorption capacity of 139.57 mg/g via monolayer chemical adsorption, demonstrating a circular approach to using plastic waste to remove plastic pollution.

2025 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent developments in microplastic contaminated water treatment: Progress and prospects of carbon-based two-dimensional materials for membranes separation

This review assessed recent advances in microplastic removal from contaminated water, covering physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods and their effectiveness across different plastic sizes, polymer types, and water chemistries. The authors identify membrane filtration and coagulation as among the most promising scalable approaches.

2022 Chemosphere 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of nanoplastics from aquatic environments using graphene oxide/chitosan sponges

Researchers developed a three-dimensional porous graphene oxide/chitosan sponge with an average pore size of 21.67 µm and evaluated its effectiveness in removing polystyrene nanoplastics (31.1 nm diameter) from aqueous solutions.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Strong Sorption of PCBs to Nanoplastics, Microplastics, Carbon Nanotubes, and Fullerenes

Researchers measured PCB sorption to nanoplastics, microplastics, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes, finding that nanoplastics sorbed PCBs strongly — with sorption coefficients comparable to carbon nanotubes — suggesting nanoplastics may be effective vectors for hydrophobic chemical contaminants.

2014 Environmental Science & Technology 911 citations
Article Tier 2

Synthesis of recyclable and light-weight graphene oxide/chitosan/genipin sponges for the adsorption of diclofenac, triclosan, and microplastics

Researchers created a lightweight, recyclable sponge made from graphene oxide, chitosan, and genipin that can effectively remove microplastics and pharmaceutical contaminants from water. The sponge maintained its effectiveness through multiple reuse cycles, making it a practical and affordable water treatment option. This type of technology could help reduce human exposure to microplastics and other harmful substances in drinking water.

2024 Chemosphere 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Hydrogel-based nanocomposites for enhanced environmental remediation

A review covered hydrogel-based nanocomposites engineered to adsorb and remove pollutants including microplastics from water. These materials show promise as efficient, tunable sorbents for environmental remediation applications.

2025 Environmental Functional Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Waste-based nanoarchitectonics with face masks as valuable starting material for high-performance supercapacitors

Researchers carbonized and KOH-activated surgical face mask waste to create microporous carbon electrode materials with surface areas of 460-969 square meters per gram for use in supercapacitors. The approach converts a major COVID-19 waste stream that releases microplastic fibers during environmental degradation into a high-value energy storage material.

2022 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 45 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of the Current Research Status of Graphene for the Removal of Microplastics and Antibiotics from Water

This review assesses the potential of graphene-based materials for microplastic removal from water, evaluating adsorption mechanisms, removal efficiency across particle sizes, and scalability challenges for water treatment applications.

2024 International Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contaminant adsorption by graphene oxide layer

Researchers found that graphene oxide, a carbon-based material, can effectively bind and remove harmful microplastic contaminants like BPA and PET from water through strong molecular interactions. This technology could be developed into filtration systems for large-scale water treatment, helping reduce the amount of microplastic-related chemicals that people are exposed to through drinking water.

2025 Journal of Biological Physics 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the effective adsorption of polystyrene microplastics from aqueous solution with magnetically separable nickel/reduced graphene oxide (Ni/rGO) nanocomposite

Researchers developed a magnetic nanocomposite material that can effectively remove polystyrene microplastics from water and be easily separated using a magnet for reuse. This technology could help reduce microplastic contamination in water supplies, potentially lowering human exposure to these tiny plastic particles through drinking water.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Trends in the applications of biochar for the abatement of microplastics in water

This review examines how biochar can be used to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from water, summarizing recent advances in biochar modification strategies that improve adsorption capacity and minimize secondary pollution risks.

2025 Bioresource Technology Reports