Abstract
Bionic composites are an emerging class of materials produced exploiting living organisms as reactors to include synthetic functional materials in their native and highly performing structures. In this work, single wall carboxylated carbon nanotubes (SWCNT-COOH) were incorporated within the roots of living plants of Arabidopsis thaliana. This biogenic synthetic route produced a bionic composite material made of root components and SWCNT-COOH. The synthesis was possible exploiting the transport processes existing in the plant roots. Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) measurements showed that SWCNT-COOH entered the vascular bundles of A. thaliana roots localizing within xylem vessels. SWCNT-COOH preserved their electrical properties when embedded inside the root matrix, both at a microscopic level and a macroscopic level, and did not significantly affect the mechanical properties of A. thaliana roots.
Highlights
Nanocomposite materials are attracting growing attention in current research for their promising applications in relevant fields such as catalysis (Walsh et al, 2011), medicine (Magnabosco et al, 2015) and sensing (Zhang et al, 2010)
We demonstrated for the first time the possibility to incorporate single wall carboxylated carbon nanotubes (SWCNT-COOH) into the roots of living plants of Arabidopsis thaliana to obtain a bionic composite made of root material and SWCNT-COOH, by exploiting the transport properties of A. thaliana roots
Germination studies were performed to evaluate the A. thaliana seeds ability to germinate in presence of SWCNT-COOH (Supplementary Figures S1, S2) and to incorporate the SWCNT-COOH during this growth stage
Summary
Nanocomposite materials are attracting growing attention in current research for their promising applications in relevant fields such as catalysis (Walsh et al, 2011), medicine (Magnabosco et al, 2015) and sensing (Zhang et al, 2010). The exploitation of living organisms to direct the syntheses of nanocomposites is extremely attractive for two main reasons: (i) the production of the materials takes place in conditions milder than those used in traditional materials-processing techniques; Bionic Synthesis by Plants (ii) the reduction of energy inputs and chemicals required to produce the nanocomposites makes bio-enabled syntheses inherently “green” processes. The latter is relevant for in vitro or in vivo applications since the reagents that are used in chemical syntheses are often toxic and may remain as contaminants in the final product
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