{
  "abstract": "Airborne microplastics (MPs) are emerging contaminants of concern in school environments, where children may experience prolonged exposure. This study assessed airborne MPs at three Spanish schools located in contrasting settings: a dense urban area in Madrid (A), a residential area in Almería (B), and an agricultural peri-urban area in Almería surrounded by greenhouses (C). An additional simultaneous indoor–outdoor comparison was performed at School B. Air samples were collected using active samplers with 25 µm stainless-steel meshes, and particles were characterised by stereomicroscopy, µ-FTIR spectroscopy, FESEM, and FTIR. Fibres were the predominant morphology, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was the most abundant synthetic polymer. School A showed the highest abundance of synthetic fibres, while polymer composition differed significantly among schools (χ2 (12) =41.77, p < 0.0001). Indoor samples contained more particles than outdoor samples, although natural-to-synthetic proportions were similar; PP, PA, and PE contributed relatively more indoors, whereas PET predominated outdoors. Only 0.45% and 0.13% of particles fell within the <10 µm and <4 µm estimated aerodynamic-size ranges, respectively, all being fibres. Overall, airborne MP occurrence varied with location and indoor–outdoor setting, while selected PET and PP fibres showed polymer-dependent surface and chemical alteration.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Chemistry and Physics, Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agri-Food Biotechnology (CIAMBITAL), University of Almería, Agri-Food Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), 04120 Almería, Spain",
    "Experimental Station of Arid Zones, Spanish National Research Council (EEZA-CSIC), Ctra. Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain",
    "School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Eugenia Battellocchi García"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "María José Gómez Ramos",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3664-5711"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "María Dolores Hernando Guil"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Laura Cortés Corrales"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Chen Wang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1452-5591"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "José Luis Oller Serrano"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Harshit Sahai",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5316-7937"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Maria Jesús Martínez Bueno",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4321-6795"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Amadeo Rodríguez Fernández-Alba"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9j5e23vsnsn96.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/polym18212784",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9j5e23vsnsn96",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4360"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2784",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-07",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9j5e23vsnsn96.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-10T00:21:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/polym18212784",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2784"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "issn:2073-4360",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Airborne Microplastics in Spanish Schools: Abundance, Morphology, Polymer Composition and Aerodynamic Size in Urban and Peri-Urban Settings",
  "title_text": "Airborne Microplastics in Spanish Schools: Abundance, Morphology, Polymer Composition and Aerodynamic Size in Urban and Peri-Urban Settings",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-10T00:21:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9j5e23vsnsn96",
  "venue": "Polymers",
  "versions": []
}