Releases of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from microplastics in aqueous medium: Kinetics and molecular-size dependence of diffusion

Highlights • Leaching rates of BFRs were controlled by diffusion within the plastic matrix. • The diffusion coefficients of BFRs in ABS ranged from 10−28.30 to 10−20.84 m2 s−1 • The activation energies for diffusion of BFRs ranged from 64.1 to 131.8 kJ mol−1 • Diffusion coefficients of BFRs in plastic matrix depend on their molecular sizes. • Diffusion coefficients show dependence on the plastic's glass transition temperature. Microplastics (