Production of metal doped microplastics

Plastic is present in our daily lives because it is a flexible material, resistant, light and insulating against electricity and heat, which makes it indispensable in almost all sectors: packaging, construction, automotive, medicine, agriculture, etc. Although these characteristics that make it a very practical and versatile material, it has the drawback that its widespread use generates a huge volume of waste worldwide. Due to their slow degradation they accumulate in the environment. Nowadays, the presence of plastics and microplastics in the sea is a problem of concern for sea organisms and is a potential source of plastic for humans through the diet. Metal labelled micro/nanoparticles have potential to evaluate plastic fate in the environat ID21, plastic micro/nanoparticles will be probed by means of XRF mapping and XANES to elucidate the metal speciation in the plastics.