Microplastics

Microplastics

Polymer Kit 2.0: Reference materials to help standardize microplastics research

This project is a follow-up to the successful Polymer Kit 1.0, which created the first set of microplastic standards and in answer to the research community’s request for smaller reference materials.

Organized by American Chemistry Council

Collaborators

  • Brett Howard
    American Chemistry Council
    (Washington, DC, US)
  • John Norman
    American Chemistry Council
    (Washington, DC, US)
  • Jennifer M. Lynch
    National Institute of Standards and Technology & Hawaii Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research
    (Hawaii, US)
  • Kellie Teague
    Hawaii Pacific University Center for Marine Debris Research
    (Hawaii, US)
  • Chase Thompson
    National Institute of Standards and Technology
    (Maryland, US)
  • Meredith Seeley
    National Institute of Standards and Technology
    (Maryland, US)
  • Katherine Shaw
    National Institute of Standards and Technology
    (Maryland, US)

Timeline

Donated materials were received in December 2022. Two LDPE powders will be ready to market in 2024.

Additional information

Two polyethylene microplastic materials were well-characterized to provide researchers with standardized materials for microplastic research. Analysis of materials included use of various polymer identification methods, including attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), uFTIR in reflectance mode, uRaman, py-GCMS, and HT-SEC.

Professional Presentations

N/A

Published Papers

N/A