This spectral database was created as part of the student research project Study of the natural degradation of plastics for an efficient sorting technique based on Raman technology, implemented in 2021 with support from Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca. The project was implemented by Eng. Ioana Cârdan, currently a PhD student mentored by Prof. Dr. Simona Pînzaru.
The database comprises macroplastics aged for years both in terrestrial or aquatic conditions and characteristic spectral information, images of samples and relevant description of the degradation processes. It covers 6 recyclable types of plastic: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS).
The database also comprises microplastics originating from aquatic environments, rivers and karst springs. These microplastics were collected within two studies conducted in our group an the results are reported in the Journal of Chemical Education (I. Nesterovschi, I. Cârdan, D. Condor, A. Couţi, E. Levei, V. Pop and S. C. Pînzaru. Have You Ever Seen a Microplastic? A Collaborative High School–Academia Approach for Identification, Quantification and Raising Awareness of Microplastics in a River Crossing Urban Area. J Chem Educ. 2025. 102 (8), 3277-3287) and Spectrochimica Acta Part A Journal (I. Nesterovschi, I. Marica, E. Andrea Levei, S. Bogdan Angyus, M. Kenesz, O. Teodora Moldovan, S. C. Pînzaru. Subterranean transport of microplastics as evidenced in karst springs and their characterization using Raman spectroscopy. Spectrochim. Acta Part A Mol. Biomol. Spectrosc. 2023; 298, 122811)
Contributors to the database: Phd student Ioana Cârdan, Phd student Ion Nesterovschi, Prof. dr. Simona Pînzaru (Coordinator).
The spectral data have been collected using the Raman-AFM Lab infrastructure http://www.phys.ubbcluj.ro/raman/
