Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Facilitates the Detection of Microplastics <1 μm in the Environment.

Micro- and nanoplastics are considered one of the top pollutants that threaten the environment, aquatic life, and mammalian (including human) health. Unfortunately, the development of uncomplicated but reliable analytical methods that are sensitive to individual microplastic particles, with sizes smaller than 1 μm, remains incomplete. Here, we demonstrate the detection and identification of (single) micro- and nanoplastics by using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with Klarite substrates.

Heterogeneous Formation of Sulfur Species on Manganese Oxides: Effects of Particle Type and Moisture Condition.

The heterogeneous reaction of SO on manganese oxides is poorly understood. By means of diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), this study investigated the reaction kinetics and product fractions on four types of manganese oxides. Due to the positive and negative moisture impacts, 68% RH (relative humidity) becomes the most favorable condition for the uptake of SO.

Boosting photocatalytic chlorophenols remediation with addition of sulfite and mechanism investigation by in-situ DRIFTs.

Sulfite is recently found to be promising in enhancing photocatalytic pollutants degradation, which is a byproduct from flue gas desulfuration process. Herein, 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) photodegradation was systematically investigated in a sulfite mediated system with g-CN as photocatalyst. The degradation efficacy was improved by about 3 times with addition of 25 mM NaSO.

Brown carbon: An underlying driving force for rapid atmospheric sulfate formation and haze event.

The rapid sulfate formation is a crucial factor determining the explosive growth of fine particles and the frequent occurrence of severe haze events in China. Recent field observations also show that brown carbon is one of the most critical components in aerosol particles sampled during haze episodes. To this day, there is limited knowledge that accesses the role of brown carbon in atmospheric chemistry.