Scientists have developed a 'plant that stores the light of LED lights and glows in the dark', and it is possible to recharge by shining light many times.



A research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed 'a plant that absorbs light such as the sun and LED lights and glows in the dark.' Plants with special nanoparticles embedded in their leaves can glow brightly for several minutes with a charge of just 10 seconds, producing 10 times brighter light than previously developed glowing plants.

Augmenting the living plant mesophyll into a photonic capacitor

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abe9733

The next generation of glowing plants | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
https://news.mit.edu/2021/glowing-plants-nanoparticles-0917

Rechargeable'Glow in The Dark'Plants Are The Green Light We've Been Waiting For
https://www.sciencealert.com/rechargeable-glow-in-the-dark-plants-could-soon-be-used-for-ambient-lighting

A research team led by Professor Michael Strano of MIT is researching 'plant nanobionics' that uses nanotechnology to give plants new capabilities. The 'plant with glowing leaves' developed by the research team in 2017 is made by injecting luciferin , which is the source of bioluminescence such as fireflies and deep-sea fish, and an enzyme called luciferase , which acts on it, into the leaves. The energy required for light emission was produced by the metabolism of the plant itself, and the amount of light was about 1/1000 of the amount required to read letters.

Research is underway at MIT to illuminate plants without electricity and make them as bright as lamps --GIGAZINE



After that, Strano's research team further improved this technology and developed a new 'plant that stores light with nanoparticles embedded in leaves and emits light in the dark'. “We wanted to create a luminescent plant with particles that absorb light, store some of it, and emit it gradually,” says Strano.

In order to increase the duration and brightness of light compared to the luminescent plant developed in 2017, the research team decided to develop nanoparticles that correspond to capacitors (capacitors) in electronic components. The newly developed nanoparticles utilize strontium aluminate , an inorganic compound containing strontium and aluminum. Strontium aluminate is a phosphorescent phosphor that can absorb visible light and ultraviolet rays and emit it as light, and is used for fluorescence of clock faces, instrument panels, induction signs, etc.

The researchers coated strontium aluminate, which was formed into nanoparticles, with silica to protect it from damage, and injected it through the stomata, which are holes for plants to exchange gas during breathing and transpiration. Nanoparticles with a diameter of only a few hundred nanometers are said to have accumulated as thin films through the pores and in the interstices of the spongy tissue of the mesophyll. The image below shows the accumulation of nanoparticles in the spongy tissue.



This is an image of nanoparticles accumulated in the spongy tissue of watercress.


by Pavlo Gordiichuk

As a result of testing nanoparticles on plants of various sizes, such as basil, creson, tobacco, daisy, and a type of taro, also known as the 'Thailand elephant ear,' nanoparticles are the light of sunlight and LED lights.

Was stored in the form of photons , and it was confirmed that they could be emitted over time.



The researchers say they found that plants exposed to blue LED light for about 10 seconds glowed for up to an hour and then gave off a particularly bright light in the first 5 minutes. The light intensity is 10 times that of the plant developed in 2017, and each leaf was able to be 'recharged' by exposing it to light for about two weeks.



It was also confirmed that the plants injected with nanoparticles were able to photosynthesize normally for 10 days and evaporate water through the stomata. The researchers also said that they could extract 60% of the nanoparticles from a plant after the experiment and reinject it into another plant.

'We needed a strong light that could charge the plant as a pulse for a few seconds,' said postdoctoral fellow Pavlo Gordiichuk , the lead author of the paper. 'Also, using a giant lens such as a Fresnel lens. It also showed that the amplified light could be delivered more than a meter away. This is a good step in creating a light of scale that people can use. '

in Science,   Creature, Posted by log1h_ik