Photoluminescence spectroscopy on commercially available plastic products

Commercially available plastic products are produced for specific applications. They represent polymeric compounds, i.e. base materials mixed with various types of additives such as pigments. The identification of the plastic type is the key goal in microplastics analysis but also the key process when it comes to recycling macroscopic plastic litter. Established methods to analyze microplastic particles are FTIR spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Both methods have shortcomings regarding plastic size and measurement speed. In 2020 Ornik et al. demonstrated that polymeric base materials can be differentiated from natural materials using photoluminescence spectroscopy. Here, we extend this method by examining commercial polymeric packaging materials found in the supermarket, which are colored by different pigments.