Although oxygen-containing functional groups generated during unavoidable aging play a key role in improving the adsorption performance of heavy metals by microplastics (MPs), little is known about the contribution of such groups to the interactions between highly toxic radioactive heavy metals and aged MPs. Here, we used a combination of batch experiments and density functional theory calculations to examine the effects and mechanisms of aging and the produced oxygen-containing functional groups, i.e., C═O, –OH, phenolic hydroxyl (–OHm), an...
