Cited by 1,059Microplastics and Plastic PollutionCultural Heritage Materials AnalysisSpectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research

Identification of microplastics using Raman spectroscopy: Latest developments and future prospects

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Araujo, Catarina F., Nolasco, Mariela M., Ribeiro, Antonio M.P., Ribeiro-Claro, Paulo J.A.·2018·Water Research

Abstract

Widespread microplastic pollution is raising growing concerns as to its detrimental effects upon living organisms. A realistic risk assessment must stand on representative data on the abundance, size distribution and chemical composition of microplastics. Raman microscopy is an indispensable tool for the analysis of very small microplastics (<20 μm). Still, its use is far from widespread, in part due to drawbacks such as long measurement time and proneness to spectral distortion induced by fluorescence. This review discusses each drawback followed by a showcase of interesting and easily available solutions that contribute to faster and better identification of microplastics using Raman spectroscopy. Among discussed topics are: enhanced signal quality with better detectors and spectrum processing; automated particle selection for faster Raman mapping; comprehensive reference libraries for successful spectral matching. A last section introduces non-conventional Raman techniques (non-linear Raman, hyperspectral imaging, standoff Raman) which permit more advanced applications such as real-time Raman detection and imaging of microplastics.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.watres.2018.05.060

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  • There is a fundamental knowledge gap in nanoplastics because of the lack of effective analytical techniques.

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Authors
Araujo, C. F., Nolasco, M. M., Ribeiro, A. M. P., & Ribeiro-Claro, P. J. A.
Affiliations
University of Aveiro (PT)
Corresponding author
Ribeiro-Claro, Paulo J.A.
Venue
Water Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-10
Volume
142
Pages
426-440
ISSN
0043-1354 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2805849778
Cited by
1,059
References
131
Citations by year
2026: 164 · 2025: 184 · 2024: 226 · 2023: 135 · 2022: 119 · 2021: 108 · 2020: 80 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 7
FWCI
3.08
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Water Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
  • CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679)
  • FCT (UID/CTM/50011/2013)
  • FCT/MEC
  • FEDER (PT2020)
  • CFA (SFRH/BD/129040/2017)
  • MMN (IF/01468/2015)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research
Keywords
microplastics, Raman spectroscopy, microplastic detection, spectral data processing, Raman mapping, reference spectral library, spectral matching, hyperspectral imaging, microplastic pollution, risk assessment
MeSH terms
Environmental Monitoring, Plastics, Spectrum Analysis, Raman, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Small Molecule Libraries

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