Effect of graphene quantum dot size on plant growth
Yao Xu, Yihua Lu, Jiagen Li, Rulin Liu, Xi Zhu
Abstract
We found a straightforward dependence of plant growth on the sizes of graphene quantum dots. Enormous GQDs, such as graphene with dimensions of micrometers, neither promoted nor inhibited the growth. In contrast, synthesized GQDs with dimensions of about 10 nm best promoted the plant growth. Moreover GQDs synthesized using an "intelligent" chemistry robot yielded even better growth results than did GQDs synthesized conventionally by humans. In addition, a theoretical model was derived for the mechanism of the promotion of plant growth by GQDs.
Topics & Concepts
Quantum dotGrapheneGraphene quantum dotNanotechnologyPlant growthMaterials scienceBotanyBiologyCarbon and Quantum Dots ApplicationsGraphene and Nanomaterials ApplicationsQuantum Dots Synthesis And Properties