Towards a reference material for microplastics’ number concentration—case study of PET in water using Raman microspectroscopy

Abstract

Increasing demand for size-resolved identification and quantification of microplastic particles in drinking water and environmental samples requires the adequate validation of methods and techniques that can be used for this purpose. In turn, the feasibility of such validation depends on the existence of suitable certified reference materials (CRM). A new candidate reference material (RM), consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) particles and a water matrix, has been developed. Here, we examine its suitability with respect to a homogeneous and stable microplastic particle number concentration across its individual units. A measurement series employing tailor-made software for automated counting and analysis of particles (TUM-ParticleTyper 2) coupled with Raman microspectroscopy showed evidence of the candidate RM homogeneity with a relative standard deviation of 12% of PET particle counts involving particle sizes >30 µm. Both the total particle count and the respective sums within distinct size classes were comparable in all selected candidate RM units. We demonstrate the feasibility of production of a reference material that is sufficiently homogeneous and stable with respect to the particle number concentration. Graphical Abstract