Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41302518›Full record

ReviewMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Microplastic Formation and Surface Crack Patterns: A Method for Waste Plastic Identification.

Hisayuki Nakatani, Anh Thi Ngoc Dao

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Hisayuki NakataniChemistry and Materials Engineering Program, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-4216-8536
Anh Thi Ngoc DaoChemistry and Materials Engineering Program, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Accumulation of plastic debris in marine environments has become a critical global issue, with microplastics (MPs) posing persistent ecological risks. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the formation mechanisms of MPs from polyolefins such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), emphasizing the influence of marine conditions on degradation pathways. Autoxidation is identified as the dominant mechanism; however, salinity and chloride ions significantly retard radical formation, altering photodegradation kinetics and crack propagation. These effects lead to distinctive surface morphologies-such as rectangular and trapezoidal crack patterns in PP-which can serve as reliable indicators for polymer identification. This review further explores the role of polymer chain orientation and spherulite structures in crack development and discusses how these features can be leveraged for cost-effective sorting and recycling strategies. Finally, emerging approaches using AI-based image recognition for automated identification of weathered plastics are highlighted as promising tools to enhance resource recovery and mitigate marine plastic pollution.

Indexed as

AI-based sortingautoxidationcrack texturedegradationmicroplastic formationpolyolefinseawater effect

Identifiers

PMID41302518
PMCPMC12655479

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.