Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Nature-derived hydrogel for microplastic removal

Scientists developed a nature-based hydrogel made from chitin and lignin that can remove nanoplastics from wastewater with very high efficiency, absorbing up to 1,791 milligrams of plastic per gram of material. This sustainable, reusable filter could help reduce the amount of tiny plastic particles that reach drinking water and ultimately the human body.

2025 Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Fabrication of dual-charged MOF-based ultrafiltration membrane to remove charged nanoplastics from wastewater

Researchers developed a new type of water filter membrane that can remove over 99% of nanoplastics from wastewater while maintaining high water flow. The membrane uses metal-organic framework nanoparticles that repel plastic particles through electrical charges and physical filtering. This technology could help prevent nanoplastics, which are too small for conventional filters, from reaching drinking water sources.

2025 Journal of Water Process Engineering 9 citations
Article Tier 2

A Chitosan Nanofiber Sponge for Oyster-Inspired Filtration of Microplastics

An ultralight chitosan nanofiber sponge was developed as a filtration material for removing microplastics from water, inspired by oyster filtration biology, and demonstrated high removal efficiency for polystyrene microplastics in lab tests while being biodegradable and made from renewable chitosan feedstock.

2021 ACS Applied Polymer Materials 66 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

Revivable self-assembled supramolecular biomass fibrous framework for efficient microplastic removal

Scientists developed a sustainable material made from chitin and cellulose, two natural compounds, that can efficiently remove multiple types of microplastics from water. The material can be regenerated and reused multiple times without losing effectiveness, making it a practical tool for water cleanup. This type of affordable, eco-friendly filtration technology could help reduce human exposure to microplastics in drinking water.

2024 Science Advances 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating the performance of the metal organic framework-based ultrafiltration membrane for nanoplastics removal

Researchers created an advanced membrane filter using metal-organic framework nanoparticles that removed over 99% of nanoplastics from water while maintaining high water flow rates. The membrane resisted fouling and worked reliably across multiple cycles and different water conditions. This type of technology could improve wastewater treatment plants' ability to prevent nanoplastics from reaching drinking water supplies.

2024 Separation and Purification Technology 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Multifunctional sodium alginate/chitosan-modified graphene oxide reinforced membrane for simultaneous removal of nanoplastics, emulsified oil, and dyes in water

Researchers developed a bioinspired three-layer membrane using sodium alginate, graphene oxide, and chitosan that removed over 99% of nanoplastics, emulsified oil, and dyes from water simultaneously, with excellent stability in extreme pH conditions and good recyclability.

2023 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Fish Gill-Inspired Bidirectional Porous Polysaccharide Aerogels for Micro/Nanoplastics Removal

Researchers developed a fish gill-inspired bidirectional porous aerogel made from chitosan and other polysaccharides for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water. The biomimetic structure allowed efficient capture of plastic particles across a wide size range while maintaining good water flow. The study presents a sustainable filtration approach using biodegradable materials that could address the challenge of removing tiny plastic particles from freshwater systems.

2025 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanism of nanoplastics capture by jellyfish mucin and its potential as a sustainable water treatment technology

Researchers investigated how jellyfish mucus from Aurelia sp. captures nanoplastics and compared its efficiency to conventional water treatment coagulants. The study found that jellyfish mucin effectively captures polystyrene and acrylic nanoplastics from wastewater treatment plant effluent, suggesting it could serve as a sustainable, bio-based technology for removing nanoplastic contamination from water.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Designing poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes with narrow pore size distribution for microplastics removal from water

Scientists developed an improved method for making water filtration membranes with very uniform pore sizes, specifically designed to capture tiny microplastic particles. Using a common polymer (PVDF) and a straightforward manufacturing process, the membranes achieved over 97 percent removal of microplastic particles as small as 500 nanometers. The study suggests this approach could offer a practical and scalable solution for filtering microplastics from drinking water and wastewater.

2023 Journal of Applied Polymer Science 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of hydroxyapatite-enhanced membrane for nanoplastics removal: Multiple scenarios and mechanism exploration

Researchers developed a novel hydroxyapatite-functionalized PVDF membrane (HAPF) for nanoplastics removal, achieving a water flux of 4376 LMH and high polystyrene nanoplastic rejection efficiency, with the optimized membrane prepared via a one-step method at pH 7.3.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Supramolecular nanocrystalline membranes with well-aligned subnanochannels for enhanced reverse osmosis desalination

Researchers engineered a 6-nanometer-thick membrane with precisely aligned sub-nanometer channels that filters seawater more efficiently than commercial reverse osmosis membranes, removing 99.6% of salt while passing water 2–4 times faster. The membrane also showed exceptional resistance to chlorine, boron, and extreme pH, pointing toward more durable and effective desalination technology.

2025 Nature Communications 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient heavy metals and salts rejection using a novel modified polysulfone nanofiltration membrane

Researchers developed a modified membrane filter using a functionalized silica material (H-KIT-6) embedded in polysulfone to remove heavy metals and salts from contaminated water with up to 99.85% efficiency. This improved nanofiltration membrane also resists clogging better than standard membranes, making it a practical candidate for purifying industrial wastewater and brackish drinking water sources.

2022 Applied Water Science 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Biobased Composite Aerogels for Efficient Flow-Through Capture of Nanoplastics via Multimodal Interfacial Interactions

Scientists created a new sponge-like filter made from natural materials that can remove nearly 100% of tiny plastic particles from water. These nanoplastics are so small they're invisible to the naked eye but pose potential health risks when they get into drinking water. The filter works efficiently with very little energy, offering a promising way to clean up water contaminated with plastic pollution.

2026 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Article Tier 2

The use of chitosan for water purification from microplastics

Researchers investigated chitosan as a sorbent for removing microplastics from water, analyzing its physicochemical properties and proposing an optimized purification method based on chitosan's sorption characteristics.

2025 Open MIND
Article Tier 2

Superhydrophilic adsorptive nanofiber membranes for ultrafast and highly-efficient waterborne nanoplastic removal

Researchers engineered a superhydrophilic nanofiber membrane by cross-linking polyethylene oxide into a polylactic acid polymer network, achieving greater than 99.99% separation efficiency for nanoplastics larger than 150 nm through combined hydrophobic and pi-pi molecular interactions, with water permeance 53 times higher than conventional membranes under gravity-driven flow.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Biomimetic on-chip filtration enabled by direct micro-3D printing on membrane

Researchers used micro-scale 3D printing to build a "fish gill"-inspired filtration chip that deflects particles and oil droplets rather than trapping them, achieving two to three times longer filter lifespan than conventional membranes and showing promise for removing plastic microparticles from wastewater.

2022 Scientific Reports 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon nanoparticles fabricated microfilm: A potent filter for microplastics debased water

Researchers developed a carbon nanoparticle membrane combined with a PVDF polymer to filter microplastics from water. The nanofilm effectively removed microplastics, reduced microbial contamination, and improved water clarity. The study highlights nanofiltration as a promising low-cost approach for removing microplastics from water, with efficiencies reaching up to 95%.

2023 Environmental Pollution 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Metal-organic framework membrane for waterborne micro/nanoplastics treatment

Researchers reviewed the potential of metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes — materials with highly tunable pore structures — to filter micro- and nanoplastics from water more effectively than conventional filtration. MOF membranes showed promise due to their adjustable surface chemistry and resistance to biological fouling, though challenges like particle clumping and structural stability still need to be resolved.

2023 Chemical Engineering Journal 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of membrane surface after the filtration of surface water containing microplastic

Researchers tested ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membranes on real river water containing microplastics and found both membrane types completely removed plastic particles from the filtered water, though the deposited microplastics reduced water flow through the membranes over time — confirming membrane filtration as an effective but imperfect water treatment strategy.

2025 Desalination and Water Treatment 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Promising Sustainable Nano-Reinforcements on Polysulfone/Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Based Membranes: Enhancing Mechanical Properties and Water Filtration Performance

Researchers tested nano-reinforced polysulfone/polyvinylpyrrolidone composite membranes for water filtration, evaluating how sustainable nanomaterial additives improved membrane permeability, rejection performance, and mechanical durability. The enhanced membranes showed improved filtration efficiency for water treatment applications.

2024 Polymers 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable and re-usable sponge materials made from chitin for efficient removal of microplastics

Researchers developed biodegradable sponges made from chitin, a natural material, that can effectively remove tiny microplastic particles smaller than 3 micrometers from water. The sponges achieved removal rates of up to 92% and could be reused for multiple cycles while remaining safe for aquatic organisms. This green approach offers a promising, environmentally friendly method for cleaning microplastics from water systems.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 214 citations
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

2D nanosheet enabled thin film nanocomposite membranes for freshwater production – a review

This review summarizes advances in water filtration membranes using 2D nanosheets — ultra-thin materials — for producing clean drinking water. Advanced filtration membranes are a key technology for removing microplastics and nanoplastics from drinking water supplies.

2021 Materials Advances 24 citations