Microplastics (MPs) exposed to the
natural environment provide
an ideal surface for biofilm formation, which potentially acts as
a reactive phase facilitating the sorption of hazardous contaminants.
Until now, changes in the contaminant sorption capacity of MPs due
to biofilm formation have not been quantified. This is the first study
that compared the capacity of naturally aged, biofilm-covered microplastic
fibers (BMFs) to adsorb perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and lead
(Pb) at environmentally relevant concentrations. Changes in the surface
properties and morphology of aged microplastic fibers (MF) were studied
by surface area analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron
microscopy. Results revealed that aged MFs exhibited higher surface
areas because of biomass accumulation compared to virgin samples and
followed the order polypropylene>polyethylene>nylon>polyester.
The
concentrations of adsorbed Pb and PFOS were 4–25% and 20–85%
higher in aged MFs and varied among the polymer types. The increased
contaminant adsorption was linked with the altered surface area and
the hydrophobic/hydrophilic characteristics of the samples. Overall,
the present study demonstrates that biofilms play a decisive role
in contaminant-plastic interactions and significantly enhance the
vector potential of MFs for toxic environmental contaminants. We anticipate
that knowledge generated from this study will help refine the planetary
risk assessment of MPs.
Solar‐driven photothermal water evaporation is considered an elegant and sustainable technology for freshwater production. The existing systems, however, often suffer from poor stability and biofouling issues, which severely hamper their prospects in practical applications. Conventionally, photothermal materials are deposited on the membrane supports via vacuum‐assisted filtration or dip‐coating methods. Nevertheless, the weak inherent material‐membrane interactions frequently lead to poor durability, and the photothermal material layer can be easily peeled off from the hosting substrates or partially dissolved when immersed in water. In the present article, the discovery of the incorporation of borophene into cellulose nanofibers (CNF), enabling excellent environmental stability with a high light‐to‐heat conversion efficiency of 91.5% and water evaporation rate of 1.45 kg m−2 h−1 under simulated sunlight is reported. It is also demonstrated that borophene papers can be employed as an excellent active photothermal material for eliminating almost 100% of both gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria within 20 min under three sun irradiations. The result opens a new direction for the design of borophene‐based papers with unique photothermal properties which can be used for the effective treatment of a wide range of wastewaters.
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