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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Critical Impactof Colored Pigments on the Long-TermPhotoaging of Polyethylene Microplastics in Coastal Seawater Environments
ClearCritical Impact of Colored Pigments on the Long-Term Photoaging of Polyethylene Microplastics in Coastal Seawater Environments
Researchers examined how colored pigments affect the long-term photoaging of polyethylene microplastics in coastal seawater under UV irradiation, finding that pigment type significantly alters the rate and character of surface degradation and associated contaminant release.
Differential photoaging behaviors of different colored commercial polyethylene microplastics in water: The important role of color characteristics
Researchers compared the photoaging behavior of transparent and five differently colored commercial polyethylene microplastics under UV exposure. They found that transparent microplastics degraded fastest, followed by yellow and red, while blue and green were most resistant, with the pattern correlating to color wavelength, lightness, and saturation characteristics. The findings demonstrate that color plays an important and previously overlooked role in determining how quickly microplastics break down in the environment.
Critical effect of iron red pigment on photoaging behavior of polypropylene microplastics in artificial seawater
This study found that iron red pigment additives in polypropylene microplastics significantly accelerated their photoaging in artificial seawater, causing surface cracking and rapid iron release. Plastic additives can dramatically alter how microplastics degrade in the environment, affecting both their physical fragmentation into nanoplastics and their chemical toxicity.
Influence of microplastic colour on photodegradation of sorbed contaminants
Researchers investigated how microplastic colour affects the photodegradation of sorbed contaminants, exposing anthracene-loaded polyethylene microplastics of four colours to UVA light and finding that unpigmented plastics degraded the contaminant fastest while white and blue pigmented plastics degraded it slowest, attributing differences to pigment light absorption profiles.
Polyethylene microplastics and nanoplastics colored with inorganic pigments in aquatic environments: Effects of mechanical aging on physicochemical properties, aggregation kinetics, and metal release
Researchers studied how mechanical aging affects colored polyethylene microplastics and nanoplastics containing inorganic pigments in aquatic environments. They found that plastics with certain pigments, particularly ultramarine blue, degraded faster and released more metals than transparent or iron oxide-pigmented plastics. The study reveals that pigment type significantly influences how colored plastics aggregate, break down, and release potentially harmful metals into water.
Response of microplastic color to photoaging and its influence on the release characteristics of derived dissolved organic matters
Researchers investigated how the color of microplastics affects their degradation under sunlight and the release of dissolved organic matter. The study found that red and yellow microplastics degraded faster due to stronger ultraviolet absorption, releasing more dissolved organic matter, and that long-term exposure to degradation byproducts from certain colored microplastics inhibited plant seed germination and antioxidant enzyme activity.
UVA-induced weathering of microplastics in seawater: surface property transformations and kinetics
Researchers studied how UVA radiation weathers microplastics in seawater, examining changes to surface properties and degradation rates. The study developed a model integrating an aging index with degradation kinetics, finding that UV exposure significantly transforms microplastic surface characteristics, which affects their behavior and potential ecological impact in marine environments.
Comprehensive assessment of photo-oxidative degradation and biofilm colonization on microplastic pellets in simulated marine environment
Researchers exposed polyethylene, polypropylene, and nylon-6 microplastics to artificial UV aging and chemical oxidation in seawater to study photo-oxidative degradation and subsequent biofilm colonization. Aging altered surface chemistry and enabled biofilm formation, with degradation rates and biofilm composition varying by polymer type.
Color: An Important but Overlooked Factor for Plastic Photoaging and Microplastic Formation
This viewpoint article argues that the color of plastic materials is an important but overlooked factor in how quickly plastics degrade and form microplastics through photoaging. The authors highlight that colored pigments and dyes can influence the rate of UV-driven plastic breakdown, which has implications for predicting microplastic formation in the environment.
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.
Influence of colourants on environmental degradation of plastic litter
A three-year outdoor experiment found that plastic color significantly affects how fast plastics break down into microplastics, with red, blue, and green colored plastics degrading much faster than black, white, and silver ones. Black and white plastics were found to resist degradation for over 45 years, while certain colored pigments allow UV light to break down the plastic, accelerating the formation of harmful microplastics.
Progress on the photo aging mechanism of microplastics and related impact factors in water environment
This review examined the photo-aging mechanisms of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that solar UV radiation drives oxidation reactions that alter surface chemistry, fragment particles further, and enhance their capacity to adsorb and release co-occurring pollutants.
Influence of aging and colorants on environmental degradation of polyolefins
By analyzing 44 polyethylene lobster trap tags that had spent anywhere from a few years to over four decades in the ocean, researchers found that plastic aging in the marine environment is not a simple linear process — and that the color of the plastic matters enormously. Red tags degraded the most, while blue and green tags were the least affected, pointing to the role of pigments in determining how quickly plastic breaks down and generates microplastics. Understanding how different plastic colors and formulations degrade helps scientists predict microplastic formation rates in the ocean.
Weathering Processand Characteristics of Microplasticsin Coastal Wetlands: A 24-Month In Situ Study
Researchers conducted a 24-month study of microplastic weathering in coastal wetlands, characterizing how wetland-specific conditions including UV exposure, salinity, and biological activity alter plastic surface chemistry, fragmentation, and biofilm colonization over time.
Recent advances on microplastic aging: Identification, mechanism, influence factors, and additives release
This review found that environmental aging transforms microplastic surface properties through abrasion, chemical oxidation, UV irradiation, and biodegradation, altering their environmental behavior and ecological risk. Aging also triggers the release of toxic plastic additives, but significant gaps remain between laboratory aging simulations and real-world conditions.
Physicochemical and biological ageing processes of (micro)plastics in the environment: a multi-tiered study on polyethylene
Researchers applied a multi-tiered approach combining laboratory aging, field deployment, and environmental simulation to study how polyethylene plastic undergoes physicochemical and biological weathering in natural settings. The study found that UV radiation and microbial colonization act synergistically to accelerate surface oxidation and fragmentation of PE into smaller particles.
Comprehensive Understanding on the Aging Process and Mechanism of Microplastics in the Sediment–Water Interface: Untangling the Role of Photoaging and Biodegradation
Researchers examined how microplastics break down at the boundary between water and sediment in coastal wetlands, comparing the roles of sunlight-driven aging and biological degradation. They found that photoaging was the dominant process, accounting for over 55% of surface changes, and that biodegradable plastics aged faster than conventional ones. The study provides important insights into how microplastics transform in real-world coastal environments.
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.
Simulated experimental investigation of microplastic weathering in marine environment
Researchers simulated microplastic weathering under marine conditions, finding that exposure to UV light, saltwater, and mechanical abrasion progressively degraded plastic surfaces, increased surface roughness, and enhanced the adsorption capacity of contaminants onto microplastic particles.
Photo aging and fragmentation of polypropylene food packaging materials in artificial seawater
Photo-aging and fragmentation of two common polypropylene (PP) food packaging materials with different additive contents were studied under artificial accelerated weathering. Additive composition significantly influenced the rate of photochemical aging and fragmentation into microplastic particles, with implications for how packaging design affects microplastic generation in the marine environment.
Abiotic Long-Term Simulation of Microplastic Weathering Pathways under Different Aqueous Conditions
Laboratory weathering experiments simulated long-term microplastic degradation under UV, thermal, and mechanical stress to characterize how environmental exposure alters plastic surface chemistry, fragmentation, and additive release. The results provide insight into the formation pathways of secondary microplastics under realistic environmental conditions.
Accelerated photoaging of microplastic - polyethylene terephthalate: physical, chemical, morphological properties and pesticide adsorption
Researchers subjected polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics to accelerated photoaging under simulated sunlight, characterizing changes in surface chemistry, crystallinity, and mechanical properties over time. Photoaging increased surface oxidation, reduced molecular weight, and enhanced the release of plastic additives, suggesting aged PET microplastics present greater chemical hazard than pristine particles.
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.
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.