Papers

61,005 results
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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

Sorption of polybrominated diphenyl ethers by microplastics

This study measured sorption of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) onto four types of microplastics under varying temperature, pH, and salinity conditions, finding that sorption capacity differed substantially by polymer type and environmental conditions.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 173 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption and release process of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from different composition microplastics in aqueous medium: Solubility parameter approach

This study investigated how four common microplastic types (PET, PP, LDPE, and PS) sorb and release flame retardant chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The type of plastic polymer significantly affects how much of these toxic chemicals it retains, with implications for how much is released when microplastics are ingested by organisms.

2020 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behaviors of chlorpyrifos on UV aged microplastics

Researchers investigated how UV aging affects the adsorption of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on biodegradable and non-degradable microplastics, finding that UV irradiation significantly modified plastic surfaces and enhanced their capacity to carry organic pollutants.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of aging on the affinity between microplastics and organic contaminants

Researchers investigated how UV and UV+H2O2 aging affects the capacity of polystyrene microplastics to adsorb and release pesticides and other organic contaminants, finding that aging-induced surface changes significantly altered adsorption affinity and desorption behavior compared to unaged controls.

2025 SHAREOK (University of Oklahoma; Oklahoma State University; Central Oklahoma University)
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behaviors and bioavailability of tetrabromobisphenol A in the presence of polystyrene microplastic in soil: Effect of microplastics aging

Researchers studied how aging changes the ability of polystyrene microplastics to absorb and release a flame retardant chemical called TBBPA in soil. They found that aged microplastics had a greater capacity to adsorb the chemical but also released it more readily, increasing the bioavailability of this toxic compound to soil organisms. The study reveals that as microplastics weather in the environment, they may actually become more effective carriers of harmful chemicals into the food chain.

2023 Environmental Pollution 73 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

Surface characteristics and adsorption properties of polypropylene microplastics by ultraviolet irradiation and natural aging

This study examined how aging and UV light change the surface properties of polypropylene microplastics and their ability to absorb other pollutants. UV-aged microplastics absorbed significantly more of a common dye pollutant, while naturally aged particles absorbed less due to biological film buildup. Understanding how microplastics change over time in the environment matters because aged particles may carry different levels of harmful chemicals than fresh ones.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 36 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

Sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles

Researchers tested the sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles and found that weathering increased their sorption capacity, meaning environmental aging makes microplastics more effective at accumulating and transporting pollutants.

2018 Environmental Pollution 558 citations
Article Tier 2

UV-B radiation aging changed the environmental behavior of polystyrene micro-/nanoplastics-adsorption kinetics of BDE-47, plankton toxicities and joint toxicities with BDE-47

Researchers examined how UV-B radiation aging changes the behavior and toxicity of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics in marine environments. They found that 30 days of UV-B aging increased the surface roughness, hydrophobicity, and pollutant adsorption capacity of the particles, while also increasing their individual toxicity to marine plankton. The study suggests that environmentally aged microplastics may pose different and potentially greater ecological risks than pristine particles.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the characteristics and sorption behaviors of aged polystyrene microplastics through three type of accelerated oxidation processes

Researchers studied how three different UV-based oxidation processes age polystyrene microplastics and how that aging affects the particles' ability to absorb the chemical bisphenol A. They found that aging significantly increased the surface oxidation and water-attracting properties of the microplastics, altering their pollutant-sorbing behavior. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in the environment may interact with chemical contaminants differently than fresh ones.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 214 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative Photo‐Induced Aging of Poly(Butylene Adipate‐co‐Terephthalate) and Polystyrene Microplastics and their Divergent Affinities for Tetracycline in Aquatic Environments

Researchers UV-aged biodegradable PBAT and conventional polystyrene microplastics in river water for 30 days, finding that aging caused surface oxidation in PBAT while polystyrene showed minimal change, and that the two types had divergent affinities for adsorbing tetracycline.

2025 ChemistryOpen 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

Data on sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles

This data article reports the sorption behavior of 21 different chemicals by UV-aged polystyrene microplastics, providing a useful dataset for modeling chemical uptake by weathered plastic in the environment. Aged plastics often absorb more pollutants than fresh plastics, making environmental aging an important factor in assessing microplastic risk.

2018 Data in Brief 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging of microplastics increases their adsorption affinity towards organic contaminants

Researchers found that microplastics that have been weathered by sunlight and environmental exposure absorb significantly more chemical pollutants than fresh microplastics, with up to a 4.7-fold increase in adsorption. Ultraviolet exposure changes the surface chemistry of the plastics, making them stickier for contaminants. This matters because most microplastics in nature are weathered, meaning they may be carrying more toxic chemicals into the food chain than laboratory studies using new plastics would suggest.

2022 Chemosphere 290 citations
Article Tier 2

A Comparison of the Adsorption Behavior of Bisphenol A by Microplastics From Different Sources

Lab experiments showed that UV weathering of four common microplastic types — PVC, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyolefin resin — consistently increased their ability to adsorb the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) by up to 19%, and in some cases changed the fundamental mechanism of adsorption. Acidic conditions and warmer temperatures amplified uptake, while higher plastic doses diluted it. Since weathered microplastics are what actually exist in the environment, these results suggest that aged particles are more potent BPA carriers than fresh plastic, worsening hormonal disruption risks in aquatic ecosystems.

2026 Water Environment Research
Article Tier 2

The effect of polymer aging on the uptake of fuel aromatics and ethers by microplastics

Researchers found that UV weathering and aging of microplastics significantly increased their sorption of fuel-related aromatic contaminants (BTEX) and ethers compared to virgin plastics. The results suggest that aged microplastics in the environment, which have higher surface oxidation, accumulate higher concentrations of fuel-related contaminants than fresh plastic particles.

2018 Environmental Pollution 281 citations
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
Article Tier 2

Aging characteristics of polylatic acid microplastics and their adsorption on hydrophilic organic pollutants: mechanistic investigations and theoretical calculations

Researchers characterized how polylactic acid microplastics undergo UV and thermal aging in aquatic environments, finding that aging altered surface chemistry, increased hydrophilicity, and enhanced adsorption of heavy metal pollutants—raising concerns about aged biodegradable plastics as carriers of co-contaminants.

2025 Environmental Pollution 4 citations
Article Tier 2

UV aging and soil organic matter co-regulate the adsorption of organophosphate flame retardants on PVC and PS: Kinetics and mechanisms

This study examined how UV aging and soil dissolved organic matter affect the adsorption of six organophosphate flame retardants onto PVC and polystyrene microplastics, finding that hydrophobic interactions dominate uptake and that UV aging increases adsorption capacity while organic matter can either suppress or enhance it depending on concentration.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of UV exposure on conventional and degradable microplastics adsorption for Pb (II) in sediment

Researchers studied how UV aging affects the ability of conventional polyethylene and degradable polylactic acid microplastics to adsorb lead ions from aquatic sediment. They found that UV aging increased the surface area and oxygen content of both plastic types, enhancing their capacity to adsorb heavy metals. The study suggests that weathered microplastics in the environment may be more effective carriers of heavy metal contamination than pristine particles.

2021 Chemosphere 84 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

Non-Negligible Effects of UV Irradiation on Transformation and Environmental Risks of Microplastics in the Water Environment

This review examines how UV irradiation drives photoaging of microplastics in aquatic environments, altering their surface chemistry, mechanical properties, and adsorption capacity for co-pollutants, and thereby amplifying their ecotoxicological risks beyond those of virgin plastic particles.

2021 Journal of Xenobiotics 43 citations