Carbon Nanodots for Enhancing the Stress Resistance of Peanut Plants

Abstract

Herein, the effect of carbon nanodots (CDs) on the stress resistance of peanuts has been studied. It is found that the stress-resistance ability of peanut plants can be enhanced significantly when cultivated in CD aqueous solution with optimal concentration. Because of the increased stress-resistance ability, the growth of peanut plants can be boosted, and the output of the peanuts can be increased by about 9%. Confocal fluorescence images showed that the CDs can be transferred from the roots to leaves through the xylem vessels of the peanut plants. The existence of hydrophilic radical groups on the surface of CDs may result in largely retaining and slowly releasing micronutrients inside the xylem vessels of the peanuts, further guaranteeing the supply of essential nutrients required for peanuts and boosting the stress-resistance ability of the peanuts.

Scalable Synthesis of Green Fluorescent Carbon Dot Powders with Unprecedented Efficiency

“…Although traditional semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) possess superior optical properties, the high‐performance QDs are usually heavy‐metal‐contained and costly, which greatly limits their application. CDs, however, carry excellent optical properties at a lower cost and reduced toxicity . At present, a number of chemical reagents and natural materials have been chosen as precursors, with various synthesis techniques developed to prepare CDs.…”

“…Despite such large progress achieved for CD synthesis, plenty of barriers still exist to CD commercialization. Typically, CDs with great performance are primarily prepared through solvothermal routes, meaning at least several hours are needed to prepare CDs at milligram levels . Nevertheless, expensive precursors and complex purification processes will no doubt enlarge the construction costs and increase the preparation time .…”

A review on the effects of carbon dots in plant systems

“…Additionally, Su et al studied the effects of CDs on peanut growth under PEG simulated drought conditions. 27 It was found that drought severely inhibits the growth of peanuts, which was relieved by the CDs. The antioxidant enzyme activities in the CD-treated peanuts were further investigated and the results showed that CDs increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) in peanuts and reduced their malondialdehyde (MDA) content.…”

“…6C). 27 With the combination of radical scavenging properties and the promotion of antioxidant enzyme activities, CDs can protect plants from abiotic stress (Fig. 6B).…”

“…Up to now, superior performance of CDs in several physiological processes of plants has been demonstrated, including growth, photosynthesis, and resistance to abiotic/biotic stress. [26][27][28] Additionally, CD treatments has also shown enhanced effects of the biological nitrogen fixation by azotobacter. 29 Furthermore, CDs play a role in the delivering of siRNA in a model plant and the in situ imaging of environmental pollutants.…”