A New Class of Reference Material: Additivly Manufactured Monodisperse Number Accurate Microplastic Reference Material through Microextrusion

The availability of numerically precise, monodisperse microplastic reference materials of exact size is pivotal for standardizing analytical techniques and promoting research and industrial applications. A novel production method for microplastic reference using a microextrusion process and specially designed nozzles produced particles in exact quantities and sizes. The method is almost error-free, cost-effective, and time-saving, with the production of 1000 particles requiring approximately one hour. To date, particles of LDPE, PA, PLA, PCL, and PMMA have been reproduced in uniform batches, containing particles of the same size in a range between 224 µm and 1349 µm in diameter, with a standard deviation of the particle sizes of less than 10%. The adjustment of particle size is facilitated by the employment of diverse nozzle diameters, a method that has the potential to further minimize the minimum particle size. This approach also enables the utilization of a wide range of thermoplastic materials.