Performance evaluation of a hyphenated laser spectroscopy system with conventional methods for microplastic analysis.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Microplastics are ubiquitous environmental pollutants with the capacity to adsorb hazardous heavy metals.
• Current methods for microplastic characterization and heavy metal detection are resource-intensive and require specialized expertise.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a custom-made hyphenated Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)-Raman spectroscopic system for microplastic characterization.
• To compare the analytical performance of the LIBS-Raman system with conventional methods like ATR-FTIR, confocal Raman, and SEM-EDS.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a hyphenated LIBS-Raman spectroscopic system for simultaneous polymer identification and heavy metal detection.
• Compared results with Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, confocal Raman spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS).

Main Results:

• Raman spectroscopy successfully identified polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics.
• LIBS detected heavy metals (Al, Ni, Co, Zn) and trace elements (Ca, Mg) adsorbed on microplastic surfaces.
• EDS analysis validated the presence of detected elements, confirming LIBS findings.

Conclusions:

• The hyphenated LIBS-Raman system provides a rapid and effective method for microplastic characterization.
• This approach requires minimal sample preparation, offering a significant advantage for analyzing environmental samples.