Nanomaterials are used in practically every aspect of modern life, including agriculture. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs) as a fertilizer to replace traditional Fe fertilizers, which have various shortcomings. The effects of the Fe2O3 NPs and a chelated-Fe fertilizer (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-Fe; EDTA-Fe) fertilizer on the growth and development of peanut (Arachis hypogaea), a crop that is very sensitive to Fe deficiency, were studied in a pot experiment. The results showed that Fe2O3 NPs increased root length, plant height, biomass, and SPAD values of peanut plants. The Fe2O3 NPs promoted the growth of peanut by regulating phytohormone contents and antioxidant enzyme activity. The Fe contents in peanut plants with Fe2O3 NPs and EDTA-Fe treatments were higher than the control group. We used energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to quantitatively analyze Fe in the soil. Peanut is usually cultivated in sandy soil, which is readily leached of fertilizers. However, the Fe2O3 NPs adsorbed onto sandy soil and improved the availability of Fe to the plants. Together, these results show that Fe2O3 NPs can replace traditional Fe fertilizers in the cultivation of peanut plants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research on the Fe2O3 NPs as the iron fertilizer.

A series of Eu(2+) and Eu(2+)/Tb(3+) activated novel Ba3LaNa(PO4)3F phosphors have been synthesized by traditional solid state reaction. Rietveld structure refinement of the obtained phosphor indicates that the Ba3LaNa(PO4)3F host contains three kinds of Ba sites. The photoluminescence properties exhibit that the obtained phosphors can be efficiently excited in the range from 320 to 430 nm, which matches perfectly with the commercial n-UV LED chips. The critical distance of the Eu(2+) ions in Ba3LaNa(PO4)3F:Eu(2+) is calculated and the energy quenching mechanism is proven to be dipole-dipole interaction. Tunable blue-green emitting Ba3LaNa(PO4)3F:Eu(2+),Tb(3+) phosphor has been obtained by co-doping Eu(2+) and Tb(3+) ions into the host and varying their relative ratios. Compared with the Tb(3+) singly doped phosphor, the codoped phosphors have more intense absorption in the n-UV range and stronger emission of the Tb(3+) ions, which are attributed to the effective energy transfer from the Eu(2+) to Tb(3+) ions. The energy transfer from the Eu(2+) to Tb(3+) ions is demonstrated to be a dipole-quadrupole mechanism by the Inokuti-Hirayama (I-H) model. The Eu(2+) and Tb(3+) activated phosphor may be good candidates for blue-green components in n-UV white LEDs.

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We designed and synthesized a novel oligo(thiophene ethynylene) (OTE) to investigate the antibacterial activities against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis) and Gram-negative (Ralstonia solanacearum and Escherichia coli) bacteria in vitro by photodynamic therapy (PDT). Notably, OTE presents broad-spectrum and greatly high antibacterial activities after white light irradiation at nanogram per milliliter concentrations. The half inhibitory concentrations (IC50) values obtained for S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli, and R. solanacearum are 8, 13, 24, and 52 ng/mL after illumination for 30 min, respectively, which are lower than that of other PDT agents. Interestingly, OTE shows the specific and very strong dark killing capability against S. aureus at the concentration of 180 ng/mL for 30 min, which is the highest efficiency biocide against S. aureus without the need of irradiation to date. The antibacterial mechanism investigated demonstrated that reactive oxygen species or singlet-oxygen generated by OTE kills bacteria irreversibly upon white light irradiation, and OTE as a v-type oligomer exerts its toxicity directly on destroying bacterial cytoplasmic membrane in the dark. Importantly, the OTE shows no cell cytotoxicity and excellent biocompatibility. The results indicate that it is potential to provide versatile applications in the efficient control of pathogenic organisms and specific application for killing S. aureus.