Researchers have created a tool to identify airborne microplastics through their unique chemical fingerprints. Microplastics are small plastic particles prevalent in both water and air, but their chemical identities in the atmosphere remain largely unexplored. The identification relies on spectroscopy, which produces a spectrum unique to each substance, similar to human fingerprints. However, challenges exist as some polymers may yield overlapping spectra, risking false matches. The project aims to deepen understanding of microplastics in Michigan's air and contribute to addressing this global environmental issue.
Just as fingerprinting uniquely identifies a person, scientists use spectroscopy to determine the chemical identity of microplastics. The absorbed or scattered light creates a unique pattern called the spectrum, which is effectively the substance's fingerprint.
Most scientific studies focus on microplastics in water. However, microplastics are also found in the air. Scientists know much less about microplastics in the atmosphere.
When scientists collect samples from the environment to study microplastics, they usually want to know more about the chemical identities of the microplastic particles found in the samples.
However, forensic analysts can get false matches in fingerprint matching. Similarly, spectral matching against a database isn't foolproof. Many plastic polymers have similar structures.
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