Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Amphiphilic Magnetic Particles Dispersed in Water and Oil for the Removal of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Microplastics

Researchers developed amphiphilic magnetic particles that can disperse in both oil and water, making them effective at capturing different types of microplastics from aquatic environments. The particles were synthesized with carefully balanced hydrophilic and hydrophobic coatings, allowing them to interact with a wide range of plastic pollutants. The study suggests this magnetic particle approach offers a promising, recoverable method for microplastic removal from contaminated water.

2024 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Separation of microplastics from water using superhydrophobic silane-coupling-agent-modified geopolymer foam

Researchers created a water-repelling foam filter by modifying a geopolymer material with a silane coating and tested its ability to remove microplastics from water. The filter achieved roughly 99 percent removal of polyethylene microspheres and maintained its performance over approximately 200 treatment cycles. The study demonstrates that this inexpensive, chemically modified foam could be a practical tool for filtering microplastics from laundry and other wastewater sources.

2024 Separation and Purification Technology 22 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

Superhydrophobic Materials and Intermolecular Forces for Microplastics Removal

This review examines the use of superhydrophobic materials—sponges, meshes, and particulate materials—for removing microplastics from water, highlighting their near-100% removal efficiency enabled by unique wetting properties. It identifies superhydrophobic materials as particularly promising for capturing small microplastic particles that conventional methods struggle to remove.

2025 ACS Materials Letters 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption of five organic compounds by polar and nonpolar microplastics

Polar and biodegradable microplastics, including polyurethane and polycaprolactone, showed significant sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants, with hydrogen bonding playing a greater role than for conventional nonpolar plastics. The findings extend understanding of how a wider range of plastic types can act as vectors for environmental pollutants.

2020 Chemosphere 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorbing nanoplastics through high-resilience lignin–polyurethane foam

Researchers developed a lignin-infused polyurethane foam that removes nanoplastics from water using two mechanisms: physical trapping in the foam's pores and chemical bonding between the plastic particles and lignin's molecular structure. This offers a promising, plant-derived approach to filtering tiny plastic particles from contaminated water. As nanoplastics are increasingly found in drinking water sources and human tissue, materials that can capture them efficiently are an important part of the solution.

2025 New Journal of Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient and Fast Removal of Oils from Water Surfaces via Highly Oleophilic Polyurethane Composites

Researchers developed polyurethane foam composites coated with silica or activated carbon that can absorb up to 50% more oil from water than plain foam. Improved oil-spill cleanup materials also have relevance to removing other hydrophobic pollutants, including those that bind to microplastics in water.

2021 Toxics 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Tiered biomimetic polydimethylsiloxane coated polyurethane sponge for sustainable seawater nanoplastic removal

Researchers developed a superhydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane-coated polyurethane sponge inspired by biomimetic tiered design that achieves a nanoplastic sorption capacity of 406.9 mg/g, removing 96.2% of 240 nm polystyrene nanoplastics in scaled-up experiments with 91.7% retention after 30 regeneration cycles.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable sponges made from chitin-cellulose nanofibers for sustainable removal of microplastics from aquatic environment

Researchers developed a biodegradable sponge made from chitin and cellulose nanofibers that can remove up to 93% of microplastics from water. The sponge maintained strong performance after four reuse cycles and naturally biodegraded in soil environments. The study presents a sustainable, eco-friendly approach to cleaning microplastic contamination from aquatic ecosystems without introducing additional persistent pollutants.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Magneto-PhotothermalSynergistic Hydrophobicity Nanoplatformfor Efficient Enrichment and Ultrasensitive Detection of Micro-Nanoplastics

Researchers developed a hydrophobic magnetic nanoplatform that integrates multiple functions, achieving microplastic removal efficiencies of 93.8% for larger particles and 87.2% for nanoplastics in ultrapure water, while also enabling ultrasensitive detection of the captured particles.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Efficient removal of polystyrene nanoplastics from complex water system through multiple driving forces with MOF-based composite

Researchers integrated the metal-organic framework UIO-66 into melamine foam to create a composite adsorbent (UMF) that removes polystyrene nanoplastics from water with 65.5 mg/g capacity, maintaining over 81% efficiency after 25 reuse cycles and across a broad pH range, through multiple simultaneous binding mechanisms.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Solar-driven superhydrophobic modified polyurethane sponge for rapid in-situ recovery of oil and microplastics in marine oil spill co-contamination

Researchers developed an ultralight superhydrophobic polyurethane sponge modified with polydopamine, MoS₂, and a silane compound that can adsorb 36–85 times its weight in oil and simultaneously capture microplastics from marine environments, with solar-driven photothermal heating accelerating oil recovery.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular dynamics insights into polypropylene microplastics adsorption onto PDMS coated sponge

Researchers developed a sponge coated with a silicone-based material (PDMS) that can effectively capture polypropylene microplastics from water, maintaining a 90% removal rate even after 10 cycles of use. Using molecular simulations, they discovered that the microplastics flatten and spread across the sponge surface during adsorption, driven primarily by van der Waals forces between the plastic and silicone. This approach offers a promising, reusable tool for removing microplastics from contaminated water.

2025 Environmental Pollution 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Inherently Micro/Nano‐Patterned and Hydrophobic‐Hydrophilic Inlay Natural Material Assembly for Efficient Nanoplastics Removal

Researchers developed an eco-friendly sponge made from natural pollen and chitin that can efficiently remove nanoplastics from contaminated water. The material achieved an adsorption capacity of over 236 milligrams per gram by combining hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties to attract and trap tiny plastic particles. The study demonstrates that nature-inspired materials could offer a sustainable and effective approach to cleaning nanoplastic pollution from wastewater.

2025 Advanced Functional Materials 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Surface-functionalised materials for microplastic removal

This review covers surface-functionalized materials—materials engineered to have specific surface properties—as a promising approach to capturing and removing microplastics from water. Superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surface coatings can attract plastic particles and facilitate their removal from contaminated water.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Magneto-Photothermal Synergistic Hydrophobicity Nanoplatform for Efficient Enrichment and Ultrasensitive Detection of Micro-Nanoplastics

Researchers developed a hydrophobic magnetic nanoplatform that integrates multiple functions, achieving microplastic removal efficiencies of 93.8% for larger particles and 87.2% for nanoplastics in ultrapure water, while also enabling ultrasensitive detection of the captured particles.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

A StraightforwardApproach for the Removal of Microplasticsfrom Water: Utilization of SLIPS

Researchers demonstrated for the first time that slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) can rapidly and efficiently remove polystyrene microplastics from water, with the slippery surface capturing particles through size-independent adhesion without requiring filters or chemical treatment.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Durable Superhydrophobic Coating for Efficient Microplastic Removal

Researchers developed a durable superhydrophobic (water-repelling) coating on aluminum that can efficiently capture and remove microplastic particles from water. The coating attracted microplastics at high removal rates and remained effective over multiple use cycles. This type of material could be incorporated into water treatment systems or filtration devices to reduce microplastic contamination in drinking water and wastewater.

2021 Coatings 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Preparation of magnetic Janus microparticles for the rapid removal of microplastics from water

Researchers developed a new type of magnetic particle that can quickly remove microplastics from water, achieving 92% removal of polystyrene and 61% removal of polyethylene in just 20 minutes. These magnetic Janus microparticles work by attracting plastic through multiple mechanisms and can be easily collected with a magnet for reuse. This technology could be a practical tool for cleaning microplastics from drinking water and wastewater, helping reduce human exposure.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comprehensive Method for Removing Microplastics from Water Using Sorbents

This review examines a range of sorbent materials — substances that bind and capture contaminants — as tools for removing microplastics from water, covering how different plastics behave based on their density and polymer composition and how various sorbents can be optimized for removal efficiency. Roughly 54.5% of ocean microplastics are polyethylene, which floats, while denser plastics sink, posing different removal challenges. The review provides a practical overview of sorbent-based water treatment strategies for addressing microplastic contamination across different water environments.

2025 Bulletin of Shakarim University Technical Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Advances in metal-organic frameworks for microplastic removal from aquatic environments: Mechanisms and performance insights

Researchers reviewed over 65 studies on using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — highly porous, sponge-like materials — to remove microplastics from water, finding some MOFs achieved up to 98% removal efficiency and could be reused six times, making them a promising filtration technology for microplastic pollution.

2025 Results in Chemistry 22 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

Highly Efficient, Recyclable Microplastic Adsorption Enabled by Chitin Hydrogen Bond Network Rearrangement

Scientists developed a foam made from chitin, a natural material found in seafood shells, that can absorb over 400 milligrams of nano-sized microplastics per gram of material, even in saltwater. This recyclable, sustainable approach could help clean microplastics from ocean water, and the recovered plastic can be converted into useful products.

2024 Advanced Functional Materials 52 citations
Article Tier 2

The suitability and mechanism of polyaluminum-titanium chloride composite coagulant (PATC) for polystyrene microplastic removal: Structural characterization and theoretical calculation

Researchers developed a new coagulant (a chemical that clumps particles together for removal) that effectively removes polystyrene microplastics from water. The composite coagulant worked better than standard water treatment chemicals across a wider range of water conditions, using hydrogen bonding to capture the plastic particles. This technology could improve drinking water treatment plants' ability to filter out microplastics before water reaches consumers.

2023 Water Research 74 citations