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PVA-Coated Fluorescent Carbon Dot Nanocapsules as an Optical Amplifier for Enhanced Photosynthesis of Lettuce
journal contribution
posted on 2020-02-25, 14:08 authored by Xiaokai Xu, Xiaoping Mao, Jianle Zhuang, Bingfu Lei, Yadong Li, Wei Li, Xuejie Zhang, Chaofan Hu, Yutang Fang, Yingliang LiuBy adopting an adhesive
polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to encapsulate
fluorescent carbon dots (CDs), a novel approach to prolong foliar
fluorescent CD retention for enhancing lettuce photosynthesis was
developed. More importantly, the photoluminescent quantum efficiency
of CD nanocapsules was as high as 72.6%. CD nanocapsules can effectively
adhere to leaves and emit visible light that can be absorbed by chloroplasts.
Eventually, the chloroplast captures a larger range of light to speed
up electron transport. Herein, the growth behavior and physiological
processes of the lettuce leaf as model plant tissue sprayed with CD
nanocapsules were emphatically investigated. The results showed that
spraying 3900 mg/L CD nanocapsules on leaves could significantly increase
the photosynthesis rate, production yield, soluble sugar and soluble
protein content of lettuce. This work offers a promising research
field to explore new and facial nanoengineering strategy for spraying
leaf with light-harvesting materials as light fertilizer to enhance
photosynthesis, thus promoting plant growth and physiology processes.