A Raman database of microplastics weathered under natural environments

Raman spectroscopy can effectively analyze submicron- to microsized microplastics, but Raman spectra of weathered microplastics vary and are often affected by fluorescence. A Raman database of weathered microplastics (RDWP) is necessary for accurately identifying microplastics in various environments. We used Raman spectra of weathered microplastics from sediments around waste plastics processing and recycling industries in Laizhou City, Shandong Province, to build the RDWP. This dataset contains 20 Raman spectra of standard samples and 155 Raman spectra of weathered microplastics. 135 Raman spectra of weathered microplastics can be identified. Among these 135 Raman Spectra, we selected 124 spectra with distinct peaks to build the Raman database of weathered microplastics (RDWP). The KnowItAll Informatics System 2018 (Bio-Rad Laboratories) was used to analyze the Raman spectra. The software can perform spectral searches, spectral identification, functional group analysis, etc., and has spectral data management, allowing users to build spectral databases by themselves. First, the spectra of the standards are built as a Raman Database of Standard Microplastics (RDSP) separately in KnowItAll. Then, the RDSP is used as one of the searched databases, and the spectra of weathered microplastics are matched and identified. Finally, the spectra of weathered microplastics are built as the Raman database of weathered microplastics (RDWP)