Université Bretagne Sud, UMR CNRS 6027, IRDL, F-56100 Lorient, France.
Université Bretagne Sud, UMR CNRS 6027, IRDL, F-56100 Lorient, France.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Dec;185(Pt A):114306. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114306. Epub 2022 Nov 7.
The marine weathering of microplastics is spectrally characterized by the appearance of new bands that disturb our understanding of the information carried by the spectra. Yet, no explanation has been provided on the chemical origin of these new bands. Thus, the main objective of this work was to identify the origins of these additional bands. To this end, 4042 spectra of poly (styrene), poly(ethylene) and poly(propylene) microplastics collected in the Mediterranean Sea, were analysed using principal component analysis. The results showed that the spectral variability was mainly related to only three processes: chemical ageing, organic and inorganic fouling. These processes probably differ from one polymer family to another due to surface affinities. This work has also led to the proposal of two new polymer indices that could be used to monitor the intensity of (bio)fouling. Finally, the development of advanced analyses could also provide information on the nature of the plastisphere.
微塑料的海洋风化在光谱上表现为新带的出现，这扰乱了我们对光谱所携带信息的理解。然而，对于这些新带的化学起源，尚未提供任何解释。因此，这项工作的主要目的是确定这些附加带的起源。为此，使用主成分分析对在地中海收集的聚（苯乙烯）、聚（乙烯）和聚（丙烯）微塑料的 4042 个光谱进行了分析。结果表明，光谱可变性主要与仅三个过程有关：化学老化、有机和无机污垢。由于表面亲和力，这些过程可能因聚合物家族而异。这项工作还提出了两个新的聚合物指数，可以用于监测（生物）污垢的强度。最后，先进分析的发展也可以提供有关塑料圈性质的信息。
