The effect of weathering environments on microplastic chemical identification with Raman and IR spectroscopy: Part II. Polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and nylon 6

Key Points

• The research aims to assess how weathering environments affect the chemical identification of specific microplastics using spectroscopy.
• Utilized Raman spectroscopy and IR spectroscopy for analysis.
• Focused on weathered samples of polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and nylon 6.
• Compared spectra of weathered microplastics to pristine samples.
• Identified significant spectral differences between weathered and pristine microplastics.
• Showed that weathering alters the chemical signatures, complicating identification.
• Provided insights into the limitations of current identification methods.