Shao Longyi¹， Fan Susu¹， Cao Yaxin¹， Liu Pengju¹， Zhang Daizhou²， Jones T.P.³， Li Weijun⁴， Yang Shushen⁵

1.College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering， China University of Mining and Technology （Beijing）， Beijing 100083， China；

2.Faculty of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences， Prefectural University of Kumamoto， Kumamoto 862-8502， Japan；

3.School of Earth and Environmental Sciences， Cardiff University， Cardiff CF10 3AT， Wales， UK；

4.School of Earth Sciences， Zhejiang University， Hangzhou 310058， China；

5.School of Smart Energy & Environment Engineering， Zhongyuan University of Technology， Zhengzhou 450007， China

Abstract

Significance Atmospheric microplastics（MPs）， as typical emerging anthropogenic pollutants， have attracted extensive attention worldwide. This research field covers advanced analytical chemistry， atmospheric monitoring， transport modeling， and health risk assessment. These studies are important for air quality management and pollution control. The reliable characterization and toxicity assessment of MPs are essential for environmental monitoring， source identification， and assessment of human exposure risks. Research on microplastics began decades ago， mainly focusing on aquatic systems. The atmosphere is now recognized as an important transport pathway. Many studies have reported MPs using different sampling and analytical methods， but these methods are not standardized. The generated data are often incomparable owing to discrepancies in sample collection， processing， and detection limits， as non-standardized experimental methods without unified quality assurance/quality control protocols can introduce high uncertainties and fail to produce comparable results.

Progress Studies on MPs have primarily focused on three key themes： sampling and analysis， source-transport-distribution patterns， and environmental and health effects. In 2015， Dris et al. first reported the atmospheric deposition of fibers in an urban area using passive sampling， representing one of the earliest research on quantifying airborne microplastics. Subsequently， active samplers with size‑selective inlets， such as PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ samplers， have been used to collect inhalable particles. For extraction and purification， density separation with ZnCl₂ or NaI solutions combined with oxidative digestion （e.g.， H₂O₂ and Fenton’s reagent） has become a commonly adopted approach. In 2019， Allen et al. demonstrated that microplastics could be transported over long distances via the atmosphere to a remote mountain site in the French Pyrenees. In terms of identification technologies for microplastics， micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （μ-FTIR） and micro-Raman spectroscopy （μ-Raman） have remained mainstream technologies. Early research mainly relied on visual classification and μ-FTIR analysis， which led to subjective bias among operators. The use of automated μ-FTIR imaging technology has enabled the identification of microplastic particles as small as 10 μm， significantly improving particle counting accuracy. Raman imaging technology has further decreased the detection limit to approximately 1 μm， enabling the characterization and analysis of microplastics and nanoplastics. Thermal analytical methods， such as pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （Py‑GC/MS） and thermal extraction‑desorption GC/MS （TED-GC/MS）， have been increasingly adopted for the mass‑based quantification of polymers. The physicochemical characteristics of MPs have been systematically summarized. Microplastics are mainly identified in the forms of fibers， fragments， films， and beads， with sizes ranging from submicron to several millimeters. Frequently identified polymer types include polyethylene terephthalate （PET）， polypropylene （PP）， polyethylene （PE）， and polyamide （PA）. Studies show that MPs can adsorb persistent organic pollutants （e.g.， PAHs and PCBs） and heavy metals. Spatially， the concentrations of microplastics are generally higher in indoor air than in outdoor air， and urban levels exceed those in rural and remote areas. Long-distance atmospheric transport has been confirmed， with microplastics detected in remote mountains and polar regions. Toxicological studies suggest that inhaled microplastics may induce oxidative stress， inflammation， and cell damage. Microplastics can directly affect climate and geochemical cycles. However， the combined effects of microplastics， additives， and adsorbed pollutants remain poorly understood.

Conclusions and Prospects The past decade has witnessed substantial progress in MPs research. New insights have been gained into global distribution， transport， and potential risks. However， most studies still involve non-standardized procedures and limited quality control. This weakens data comparability and prevents robust risk assessments. Future studies should focus on internationally compatible standards covering the whole process， from sampling to data analysis. Toxicity studies also require further improvement. Existing detection methods cannot simulate long-term microplastic inhalation under actual environmental conditions. Three priority directions are proposed： 1） establishing a standardized and effective methodological system covering all steps from sampling to identification； 2） clarifying the combined toxicological mechanisms of microplastics， additives， and adsorbed pollutants； 3） systematically assessing ecological and human health risks by integrating monitoring data， transport models， exposure factors， and toxicological dose–response relationships. These efforts will provide a scientific basis for future pollution mitigation and policy formulation.

Keywords： atmospheric microplastics； physicochemical characteristics； detection method； environmental effect； health effect

Get Citation:Shao Longyi， Fan Susu， Cao Yaxin， et al. Research progress of atmospheric microplastics［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2027， 33（2）： 1-14.

Received:2026-07-21， Revised： 2026-08-20， Online： 2026-09-11。

Funding：The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42475113).

DOI：10.13732/j.issn.1008-5548.2027.02.008

CLC No.：X142；TB44

Type Code: A

Serial No.:1008-5548（2027）02-0001-14