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Detecting and characterizing microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment
Citation:
Potter, Phillip M. Detecting and characterizing microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment. Pacifichem 2021, NA, OH, December 19 - 23, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
Plastics breakdown into micro- (< 5 mm) and nano-sized (<100 nm) particles when they undergo environmental exposure and aging. While these microplastics have been studied in many geographic regions, there are still many questions about their origins. This research used quantum cascade laser-based infrared imaging to identify and quantify microplastic contamination from freshwater and urban watershed systems. These findings should influence future studies on microplastics by identifying sources of microplastics in freshwater and urban watershed systems. These methodologies may be useful to a variety of government and academic researchers investigating microplastics.
Description:
Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are polymer particles with a size of < 5mm and < 1000nm, respectively. They are potentially hazardous due to their high surface area to volume ratio that facilitates leaching of their inherent additives and allows them to be efficient vectors for toxic metals and persistent organic pollutants. Faster and more efficient methods for collection, preparing, and characterizing MPs and NPs are needed to be able to track sources, transport routes, and fate of these materials. This work uses quantum cascade laser-based infrared imaging to explore MP formation and contamination in freshwater and urban watershed systems. In addition, methods are explored to detect NPs in environmental samples.