Sommer C, Schneider LM, Nguyen J, Prume JA, Lautze K, Koch M. Identifying microplastic litter with Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: A first approach.
Mar Pollut Bull 2021;
171:112789. [PMID:
34364135 DOI:
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112789]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The broad diversity of microplastic litter requires a selection of analytical techniques to reliably determine the particle's chemical composition. This study demonstrates that Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) can identify microplastic particles based on their spectral fingerprints. By studying the spectral features of polymer reference spectra, microplastic litter can be distinguished from non-plastic materials. The results show that LIBS can be used as a fast in-situ technique for pre-characterization of the microparticle's material and is a possible tool for environmental studies on microplastics.
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