Low molecular weight polymers in aquatic environments as pollutants of emerging concerns: recovery, quantification and microstructure

Microplastics and, more in general, synthetic polymer debrides of anthropic origin are accumulating in the environment, in particular in marine water and sediments, with risks associated for aquatic organisms and humans not well wholly understood. In this contribution it is reported a new method for the isolation of microplastics from surface seawater and the quantification by solution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR) with respect to a known concentration of an internal standard (mesitylene) dissolving the microplastics in 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane-d2 (TCE-d2). TCE-d2 is a high boiling solvent that allowed the analysis and quantification of poly(ethylene) (PE) and poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) MPs at 80 °C.