Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Insight into interactions of polystyrene microplastics with different types and compositions of dissolved organic matter

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics interact with different types of dissolved organic matter, finding that fulvic acid and humic acid adsorb onto microplastics through distinct mechanisms, which influences microplastic transport and transformation in the environment.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Tannic Acid and Macromolecular Humic/Fulvic Acid onto Polystyrene Microplastics: A Comparison Study

Researchers investigated how dissolved organic matter components — humic acid, fulvic acid, and tannic acid — adsorb onto polystyrene microplastics, finding that pH and ionic conditions (particularly divalent cations like Ca2+) significantly influence adsorption behavior and thus microplastic environmental fate.

2022 Water 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Induced structural changes of humic acid by exposure of polystyrene microplastics: A spectroscopic insight

Researchers used spectroscopic methods to investigate how polystyrene microplastics interact with dissolved organic matter at the molecular level. They found that microplastics bind to the aromatic structures of humic acid through chemical bonding, forming a highly conjugated co-polymer complex with altered structural properties. The study reveals that microplastics can fundamentally change the chemistry of natural organic matter in aquatic environments, which may affect pollutant transport and biogeochemical cycles.

2017 Environmental Pollution 279 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of typical natural organic matter on microplastics in aqueous solution: Kinetics, isotherm, influence factors and mechanism

Researchers investigated humic acid adsorption onto PVC and PS microplastics, finding that pH, ion species, particle size, and surfactants significantly influenced adsorption capacity through mechanisms including halogen bonding, hydrogen bonding, and pi-pi interactions.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 131 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of humic substances’ hydrophobicity in heterogeneous adsorption onto microplastics: Insights from two-dimensional correlation hydrophilic interaction chromatography

Researchers investigated how the hydrophobic properties of humic substances influence their adsorption onto pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics. Using chromatography techniques, they found that more hydrophobic humic molecules preferentially adsorb onto microplastics, with this trend being stronger for aged plastics and under acidic conditions. The study highlights the critical role of hydrophobicity in determining how natural organic matter interacts with microplastics in aquatic environments.

2025 Environmental Technology & Innovation 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into the characteristics, adsorption and desorption behaviors of microplastics aged with or without fulvic acid

Researchers investigated how fulvic acid, a key component of dissolved organic matter, influences the aging, adsorption, and desorption behavior of microplastics under UV radiation, finding that water environmental factors significantly alter the surface properties and contaminant-binding capacity of aged microplastics.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into interactions between microplastics and fulvic acid: Mechanisms affected by microplastics type

This study explored how different types of microplastics bind to fulvic acid, a key component of dissolved organic matter in environmental waters, finding that the polymer type significantly affected binding strength and mechanism. The results help explain how microplastics interact with natural organic matter in aquatic environments.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Dissolved Organic Matters and Microplastics Regulates the Transport of Microplastics in Saturated Porous Media

Researchers studied how different types of dissolved organic matter affect the transport of polystyrene microplastics through saturated porous media. The study found that humic acid, bovine serum albumin, and sodium alginate all promoted microplastic mobility, with humic acid having the strongest effect due to electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance mechanisms.

2024 ACS ES&T Engineering 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of organic matter on interaction forces between polystyrene microplastics: An experimental study

Researchers examined how organic matter in seawater affects the aggregation and adhesion forces between polystyrene microplastics, finding that organic coatings alter surface interaction forces in ways that influence whether microplastics clump together and sink or remain dispersed in the water column.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Probing the molecular interaction between photoaged polystyrene microplastics and fulvic acid

Researchers investigated how photoaged polystyrene microplastics interact with fulvic acid, a common natural organic compound found in water environments. Using advanced spectroscopy techniques, they found that aging changed the surface chemistry of the microplastics and altered how they bind to fulvic acid at the molecular level. The study suggests that weathering processes in the environment may significantly change how microplastics interact with and transport other dissolved substances in water.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of the Differences in Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Adsorbed on Five Kinds of Microplastics Using Multiple Methods

Researchers developed an optimized method for extracting dissolved organic matter directly from microplastics collected across five different environmental settings. They found that the type of microplastic, its shape, and the environment it was collected from all significantly influenced how much organic matter was adsorbed, with porous extruded polyethylene showing the highest enrichment. The study provides new analytical approaches for characterizing how microplastics interact with organic matter in aquatic and sediment environments.

2025 Molecules 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics, dissolved organic matter, and coexisting pollutants: Mechanisms, environmental implications, and knowledge gaps

This review examines the three-way interactions between microplastics, dissolved organic matter, and coexisting pollutants, synthesizing how microplastic-DOM adsorption influences contaminant behavior and fate in the environment. The authors identify the dual roles of environmental DOM and microplastic-derived DOM in regulating pollutant adsorption, mobility, and toxicity as a critical knowledge gap.

2025 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Influencing Mechanisms of Exogenous and Endogenous Dissolved Organic Matter on the Adsorption of Tetracycline on UV ‐Light Aged Microplastics

Researchers investigated how humic acid and microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter (MP-DOM) influence tetracycline adsorption onto UV-aged polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics, finding that UV aging increased surface area and functional groups on the plastics while dissolved organic matter altered adsorption capacity through competitive and facilitative mechanisms.

2025 Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of arsenite to polystyrene microplastics in the presence of humus

Polystyrene microplastics adsorb arsenic more effectively when humic acid is present in the water, because the organic matter forms a coating on the plastic surface that attracts more arsenic ions. This finding suggests that microplastics can serve as vectors for the toxic metalloid arsenic in natural water environments.

2020 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between Microplastics and Dissolved Organic Matter in the Fresh Water Environment

This review explores how microplastics interact with dissolved organic matter (DOM) — the complex mixture of carbon compounds found in rivers and lakes — and what that means for freshwater ecosystems. Microplastics readily bind to DOM, altering its distribution in sediments and affecting the microbial communities that depend on it for food and energy. DOM can also change how far microplastics travel and how available they are to aquatic organisms. The interplay between these two classes of contaminant complicates efforts to predict microplastic behavior in the environment.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights into the adsorption of endocrine disruptors onto polystyrene microplastics in water

Researchers studied the mechanisms by which polystyrene microplastics adsorb endocrine-disrupting compounds from aquatic environments, finding that hydrophobic interactions and surface chemistry govern the binding. The results clarify how microplastics act as vectors for co-transporting endocrine disruptors through aquatic ecosystems.

2023 Environmental Pollution 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of humic acid on Pb2+ adsorption onto polystyrene microplastics from spectroscopic analysis and site energy distribution analysis

Researchers investigated how humic acid (HA) affects the adsorption of lead ions onto polystyrene microplastics, finding that higher HA concentrations promoted greater lead adsorption by acting as a bridging molecule between the plastic surface and the metal. Spectroscopic analysis confirmed that HA introduced additional adsorption sites and enhanced the surface affinity of the microplastics for lead.

2022 Scientific Reports 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of microplastic-derived organic matter onto minerals

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) released from weathered microplastics was studied for its adsorption onto soil minerals, a process relevant to microplastic fate and potential contaminant transport. Microplastic-derived DOM adsorbed onto mineral surfaces, altering soil chemistry and potentially stabilizing or mobilizing other contaminants in soil-water systems.

2020 Water Research 152 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing theKey Impact of Microplastic-Derived DissolvedOrganic Matter Properties on Aromatic Pollutant Adsorption and theUnderlying Mechanisms

Researchers examined how dissolved organic matter derived from polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics affects the adsorption of bisphenol A and naphthalene onto covalent triazine frameworks, comparing effects to humic acid as a conventional reference. Results showed MP-derived DOM substantially suppressed aromatic pollutant adsorption, with DOM aromaticity and hydrophobicity (R2 = 0.90-0.99) identified as the dominant governing properties.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Change in adsorption behavior of aquatic humic substances on microplastic through biotic and abiotic aging processes

Researchers found that both UV irradiation and microbial aging of polyethylene microplastics significantly altered their surface chemistry, changing how aquatic humic substances adsorb onto the plastic surface and highlighting the importance of weathering state in assessing microplastic-contaminant interactions.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations