title: Characterisation of nanoplastics during the degradation of polystyrene.
abstract: The release of plastics into the environment has been identified as an important issue for some time. Recent publications have suggested that the degradation of plastic materials will result in the release of nano-sized plastic particles to the environment. Nanoparticle tracking analysis was applied to characterise the formation of nanoplastics during the degradation of a polystyrene (PS) disposable coffee cup lid. The results clearly show an increase in the formation of nanoplastics over time. After 56 days' exposure the concentration of nanoplastics in the PS sample was 1.26 × 10(8) particles/ml (average particles size 224 nm) compared to 0.41 × 10(8) particles/ml in the control.
authors.affiliation: Department Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany. Electronic address: lambert@em.uni-frankfurt.de.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.affiliation: Department Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000032:analysis*; D010316:Particle Size; D010782:Photolysis; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D011137:Polystyrenes; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Degradation; Environment; Microplastics; Nanoparticle tracking analysis; Nanoplastics; Polystyrene