ArticleACS omega2025
UV Aging of PET Microplastics in a Custom-Built Weathering Chamber Replicating Mediterranean Conditions.
Article in ACS omega, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Aging transforms marine microplastics into reactive interfaces with environmental consequences.iScience · 2026Review
- Engineering PET surface colonization with a synthetic bacterial consortium.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
During their lifetime, microplastics undergo transformations and react in ways that change their behavior and properties over time. Current standard plastic weathering protocols, which were developed prior to the increased concern about plastic pollution, may not be fully suited for microplastic studies as they aim to monitor durability and understand bulk plastic behavior, with little concern about fragments or leachates produced during degradation. This work aims to age poly-(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) microplastics (MPs) in a custom-built weathering chamber replicating Mediterranean shoreline conditions (detailed in the authors' previous work). This work studies the physicochemical changes of PET microplastic pellets (3-5 mm) following aging for a period of 90 days in dry and aquatic environments within a purposely designed weathering chamber. The chamber implemented UV-A, mechanical abrasion, and elevated temperatures to replicate the shore conditions. Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to follow changes in the carbonyl content, crystallinity, and phenyl content of the PET MPs. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) paired with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was used to observe changes at the surface of the aged PET MPs. SEM showed that abrasion led to surface roughening and fibrillation. Despite changes being noted, no clear pattern emerged within the processed Raman spectroscopic results to elicit the contributions of UV radiation, salinity, and temperature. Loss of the surface layer by fragmentation and exposure of new surfaces could explain the fluctuating micro-Raman data. This work demonstrates early-stage degradation features including fluctuating chemical changes, fragmentation, abrasion, and salt crystallization under environmentally realistic Mediterranean shoreline conditions while laying methodological groundwork for future microplastic weathering research that seeks longer durations.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.