A fluorescence approach for an online measurement technique of atmospheric microplastics†

Microplastic particles in the atmosphere are regularly detected in urban areas as well as in very remote locations. Yet the sources, chemical transformation, transport, and abundance of airborne microplastics still remain largely unexplained. Therefore, their impact on health, weather and climate related processes lacks comprehensive understanding. Single particle detection presents a substantial challenge due to its time-consuming process and is conducted solely offline. To get more information about the distribution, fluxes and sources of microplastics in the atmosphere, a reliable and fast online measurement technique is of utmost importance. Here we demonstrate the use of the autofluorescence of microplastic particles for their online detection with a high sensitivity towards different widely used polymers. We deploy online, single particle fluorescence spectroscopy with a Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor WIBS 5/NEO (Droplet Measurement Technologies, USA), which enables single particle fluorescence measurements at two excitation wavelengths (280 nm and 370 nm) and in two emission windows (310–400 nm and 420–650 nm). We investigated shredded (<100 μm) everyday plastic products (drinking bottles and yogurt cups) and pure powders of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene and polypropylene. For the broad range of typical plastic products analyzed, we detected fluorescence on a single particle level using the WIBS. The online detection can identify particles smaller than 2 μm. In the case of microplastic particles from a PET bottle, 1.2 μm sized particles can be detected with 95% efficiency. Comparison with biological aerosols reveals that microplastics can be distinguished from two abundant pollen species and investigation of the complete fluorescence excitation emission maps of all samples shows that online identification of microplastics might be possible with fluorescence techniques if multiple channels are available.