The study of amorphous and crystalline microplastics in the Japanese atmosphere

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Research has been centered on the creation of amorphous and crystalline plastics for later use in adsorption tests, as well as studying the extent to which these types of plastics exist in the environment.For the former, plastics such as polyethylene and PET have been used for creating crystalline/amorphous standards using various melt/freeze cycles. Methods for the analyses of these plastics have been examined using both Raman spectroscopy and FTIR.In studies of environmental plastics, the change in polymers such as polyethylene and PET have been observed, with general increases in crystallinity and formation of carbonyl groups on the surface of plastics exposed to uv over long periods outdoors. The crystallinity of PET bottles is not uniform, with the tops and bottoms of bottles being more amorphous. This has implications for the extent of environmental degradation expected to occur. As expected, polyethylene was comparatively more resistant to degradation.Atmospheric sampling is currently ongoing, with various types of filters being tested to understand which is best for sampling in remote locations.