Experimental dataset on EPS surface modification using sodium percarbonate: FT-IR and SEM analysis

The presented dataset contains experimental data obtained during the surface analysis of expanded polystyrene (EPS) subjected to chemical degradation using sodium percarbonate (SPC) activated by Fe(III) cations or UV radiation, i.e. data from the FT-IR and SEM analysis. This dataset was collected as part of the grant project.Project context:The project investigates whether advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) — based on radicals generated from peracetic acid and sodium percarbonate — can effectively degrade microplastic particles present in the aquatic environments. In the second stage, the susceptibility of chemically pre-treated plastic particles to enzymatic biodegradation by selected green algae species (Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus quadricauda) is assessed. The overarching goal is to develop a combined chemical–biological treatment strategy to reduce the environmental burden of micro- and nanoplastic pollution.The presented dataset contains 42 files of different formats. Files can be opened in Thermo Scientific™ OMNIC™ Series Software, in any spreadsheet program (e.g. Excel), in any program that opens .JPG, and in Notepad. The data was collected between October 2024 and December 2024 at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bialystok, Poland. The creators of the files presented in this dataset were: Izabela Ryza and Urszula Klekotka.The research was conducted as part of the grant project, which is led by prof. dr hab. Joanna Karpińska. The project was funded by the National Science Centre, Poland (NCN) under the OPUS grant, no. 2023/51/B/ST10/00157.Detailed characteristics of the file structure, data formats, and contents of individual folders can be found in the README.txt file included with the collection.Dataset authors: Izabela Ryza created and organised the files within the dataset.