(8) Marine Degradation of Polymers Studied by Raman Imaging

Raman imaging is obtained by measuring Raman spectra with highly spatial resolution in two-dimensions and constructing Raman imaging from the spectral information and its spatial information. In the Raman spectra in the low-frequency region, intermolecular vibrations derived from the crystal structure of polymers and vibrational modes caused by intermolecular hydrogen bonding can be observed. By measuring Raman spectra in both high- and low-frequency regions, we can visualize the distribution of crystallinity of polymers from Raman imaging in the high-frequency region and changes in the strength of the hydrogen bonding from Raman imaging in the low-frequency region. Using this Raman imaging, we have succeeded in detecting the degradation process of marine degradable polymers in the sea.