Marine microplastic pollution, particularly from polystyrene, poses serious risks to ecosystems and human health. Traditional detection methods, though sensitive, are often costly and complex, which restricts their application in large-scale marine monitoring. This study presents a low-cost electrochemical detection – filtration strategy using electrospun nanofiber membranes for the rapid identification and removal of microplastics in seawater. A functional membrane composed of PVDF, chitosan, and SiO₂ is fabricated via electrospinning, offering high porosity, uniform structure, and self-cleaning properties. By comparing the current before and after filtration, a correlation between current response (ΔI) and microplastic concentration is established, enabling semi-quantitative detection. The membrane effectively filters 10–50 μm polystyrene microplastics with a theoretical efficiency above 90%, while maintaining hydrophobicity under dynamic seawater conditions. This approach provides a practical, minimally instrumented, portable solution for marine microplastic monitoring and offers theoretical support for the development of efficient sensing materials.
Zhou et al. (2025) studied this question.