Production and characterization of environmentally relevant microplastic reference materials

• Grant number: 25/08287-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2026
• End date: December 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Walter Ruggeri Waldman
• Grantee: Rogerio Martins Vieira
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias para a Sustentabilidade (CCTS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/12104-4 - Fate and impacts of microplastics and pesticides in aquatic and terrestrial matrices in agricultural contexts, AP.TEM

Abstract

Microplastics are considered emerging pollutants and are ubiquitous in various biomes near and far from anthropogenic activities. There is intense research activity studying this pollutant. However, there are still significant gaps, such as the incipient existence of protocols for obtaining reference materials and the shy consideration of environmentally relevant parameters for these protocols. Weathering and its surface modifications can affect the properties of microplastics in analyses such as sorption and desorption experiments and ecotoxicological assays. Since weathering is a complex and heterogeneous process, with morphological changes in addition to the multiple chemical modifications, it cannot be well represented by the carbonyl index as the sole criterion when the reference material considers degradation a relevant factor. This project aims to develop environmentally relevant reference materials, considering the complexity and the chemical and morphological modifications that occur during the photodegradation of a microplastic. (AU)