Photochemical weathering of polyurethane microplastics produced complex and dynamic mixtures of dissolved organic chemicals
Vittorio Albergamo, Wendel Wohlleben, Desirée L. Plata
Abstract
for TPU_Ether, TPU_Ester and PU_Hardened, respectively. Roughly three thousand unique by-products were released from photo-weathered TPUs, whereas 540 were detected in the DOC of PU_Hardened. This carbon pool was highly complex and dynamic in terms of physicochemical properties and susceptibility to further photodegradation after dissolution from the particles. Our results show that plastics photodegradation in the ocean requires chemical assessment of the DOC emissions in addition to the analysis of aged microplastics and that polymer chemistry influences the chain scission products.
Topics & Concepts
Dissolved organic carbonMicroplasticsThermoplastic polyurethanePhotodegradationEnvironmental chemistryChemistryAqueous solutionPolyurethaneCarbon fibersNuclear chemistryMaterials scienceOrganic chemistryElastomerPhotocatalysisComposite materialComposite numberCatalysisMicroplastics and Plastic PollutionMarine Biology and Environmental ChemistryRecycling and Waste Management Techniques