Summary
Non-technical Description Polymers are widely used but may have unintended negative consequences, e.g., they form microplastics (sizes between 1μm and 3 mm) and nanoplastics (sizes between 10nm and 1μm), collectively termed MNPL. It is well-known that MNPL formation is triggered by (rare) bond-breaking events caused by exposure to air, water/solvent or to UV radiation, or by small external forces (e.g., polymers stretched for packaging). However, a thorough understanding of how such Å-scale bond-breaking events lead to much larger-sized fragments remains elusive. Filling the critical knowledg
