Maize Phytoliths and Photoluminescent Silica Nanotubes Prepared from a Natural Silica Resource

Abstract

Maize leaves and sheaths are cheap agricultural byproducts that contain an abundance of amorphous hydrated silica (named phytoliths). However, there have been no attempts at utilizing the phytoliths to synthesize silica nanotubes. In this paper, we describe the morphologies and microstructures of phytoliths in leaves and sheaths of maize, and synthesize hollow silica nanotubes using the phytoliths in cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) /sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) surfactant system. TEM and SEM images show that the phytoliths exist in cross and dumbbell shapes in maize. The silica nanotubes obtained from the naturally deposited phytoliths exhibit special blue photoluminescence. This optical characteristic indicates that the agro-based waste materials may have potential applications in the fields of light localization and other integrated optical devices.

Rice Husk Silica-Derived Nanomaterials for Battery Applications: A Literature Review

“…49 In general, RHA has wide range of applications, including the fabrication of silica gels, silicon chip, silica−carbon composites, construction materials, catalysts, zeolites, battery materials, graphene, energy storage/capacitor, carbon capture, as well as in drug delivery vehicles. 51…”

“…In addition, RH silica materials with specific morphologies and structures can be synthesized for several particular applications. − Wang et al explored the intrinsic morphology and microstructure of the biosilica in RH by controlling the pretreatment and reaction conditions to maintain their original structure. Here, porous silica nanoparticles with narrow size distribution and high surface area were initially prepared from HCl-treated RH by means of controlled pyrolysis.…”

“…Compared with amorphous porous silica, the synthesized porous silica frameworks have wide applications and exhibit superior performance because of the increased crystallinity and structural integrity . In general, RHA has wide range of applications, including the fabrication of silica gels, silicon chip, silica–carbon composites, construction materials, catalysts, zeolites, battery materials, graphene, energy storage/capacitor, carbon capture, as well as in drug delivery vehicles …”

Accumulation of germanium (Ge) in plant tissues of grasses is not solely driven by its incorporation in phytoliths

“…In the present study for both investigated plant species (A. sativa and Z. mays) biosilicification was observed through microscopy investigations. Reference plants as well as plants treated with Ge showed phytoliths and silica plates in their leaves as previously described in the literature (Twiss et al 1969;Cheng et al 2003;Zhang et al 2011;Andrade et al 2014). Analysis of the elemental composition of the phytoliths by EDX revealed a strong signal for Si but no signal for Ge in both reference plants and plants treated with high doses of Ge.…”