Nanoplastics Aggregation in Environment: Analytical Methods and Environmental Implications

Abstract The degradation of plastic debris may result in the generation of nanoplastics, which is an emerging environmental pollutant and widely existed in the earth. Compared with microplastics, nanoplastics have higher specific surface area for the sorption of organic pollutions and toxic heavy metals. Due to the small particle size, nanoplastics can be transported in organs and tissues of the human body, Posing a potential hazard to human health. However, due to the limitation of collection and analysis methods, there are more literatures on microplastics than on nanoplastics. This article reviews the analytical methods and potential hazards to the environment of nanoplastics. It summarizes and analyzes the recent research, and looks forward to the future research, so as to provide a reference for the continued research of nanoplastics.