Applications of nanomaterials in agricultural production and crop protection: A review

Nanotechnology: The new perspective in precision agriculture.

Chitosan nanoparticle based delivery systems for sustainable agriculture.

Various nano-enabled strategies are proposed to improve crop production and meet the growing global demands for food, feed and fuel while practising sustainable agriculture. After providing a brief overview of the challenges faced in the sector of crop nutrition and protection, this Review presents the possible applications of nanotechnology in this area. We also consider performance data from patents and unpublished sources so as to define the scope of what can be realistically achieved. In addition to being an industry with a narrow profit margin, agricultural businesses have inherent constraints that must be carefully considered and that include existing (or future) regulations, as well as public perception and acceptance. Directions are also identified to guide future research and establish objectives that promote the responsible and sustainable development of nanotechnology in the agri-business sector.

Nano-enabled strategies to enhance crop nutrition and protection.

Current and Prospective Methods for Plant Disease Detection

Fluorescent silica nanoprobe as a biomarker for detection has attracted much attention in the field of nano-biotechnology recently but no further research applications using fluorescent silica nanoparticles (FSNP) combined with antibody molecules reported to detect pathogen detection. In this study, silica nanoparticles were prepared using the water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion method. The silica nanoparticles were circular in diameter of 50 ± 4.2 nm. The organic dye, tris-2, 2' -bipyridyl dichlororuthenium (II) hexahydrate (Rubpy), could be incorporated efficiently into the core of silica nanoparticles. The fluorescence of Rubpy-doped silica nanoparticles was photostable using a collisional quenching fluorescence test. The Rubpy-doped silica nanoparticles were conjugated with the secondary antibody of goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) and successfully detected plant pathogen such as Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria that causes bacterial spot disease in Solanaceae plant. These results demonstrated that the fluorescence silica nanoprobe biomarker will have been potential for rapid diagnosis applications on plant diseases.

Fluorescence Silica Nanoprobe as a Biomarker for Rapid Detection of Plant Pathogens

The use of TiO2 as photocatalyst to degrade the organic compounds is an effective method of oxidation process and has been widely studied in environmental engineering However, TiO2 absorbed the UV light which is only small part of sunlight reaching earth surface to activate photocatalytic procedure is a major disadvantage Therefore, studies on the development of new TiO2 that its photocatalytic activity can be activated by visible light which is the major part of sunlight will be valuable for field application In this study, we evaluate the photocatalytic degrading efficiency of porphyrins/TiO2 complexes on the organic pollutants under irradiation with visible light (λ= 419 nm) The results showed that the photodecomposition efficiency of methylene blue were up to 95% and 90% respectively after using NiTPP/TiO2 and ZnTPP/TiO2 irradiated with visible light for 6 h These evidences reveal that the system of porphyrin/TiO2 complexes has significantly high efficiency of photocatalytic degradation under visible light irradiation

Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Porphyrin/TiO2 Complexes Activated by Visible Light

In this study, titanium dioxide thin film was prepared using the modified chemical vapor deposition. The parameters employed to control the preparation of the catalyst include the temperature of water bath, the Ti(OC3H7)4/H2O ratio, the flow rate of carrier gas, the oxidation temperature, the oxidation time, the calcination temperature, the rotating speed of furnace, and the speed of geared motor. The orthogonal arrays in the design of experimental method proposed by Taguchi were adopted to conduct the multiple-factor experiment. The conversion rate of salicylic acid in the aqueous or heterogeneous phase photocatalysis experiment was employed to identify the optimal conditions for assembly. The results indicated that a higher conversion ratio of the organic substance could be achieved under catalytic oxidation temperature of 400°C, calcination temperature of 550°C, and spraying speed of 30 rpm and the optimal experimental conditions obtained in this study were irradiation with intensity of 2.9 mW cm-2 on salicylic acid at concentration of 250 mg L-1 by both agitation and aeration processes (dissolved oxygen level = 8.2mg O2 L-1) at pH 5, which could achieve optimal hydroxyl radical yield of 5.1 ×10-17 M.

Optimization of Preparation of the TiO2 Photocatalytic Reactor Using the Taguchi Method

A microwave/Fe3O4 catalytic system was proposed for treatment of volatile organic carbons (VOCs). This system comprises a household microwave oven modified as the reaction chamber, which was fitted with a vertical, cylindrical quartz reactor comprising a catalytic packed column filled with granular Fe3O4, a microwave catalyst of iron (II, III) oxide. Experimental results showed that the destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of toluene by microwave alone was close to zero, but with the microwave/Fe3O4 system, the temperature of the catalytic packed column increased rapidly and reached thermal balance within 10-15 min. Analysis of the rear gas after combustion showed that most of the toluene was thermal oxidized into CO2 and H2O. The successful application of the proposed microwave/Fe3O4 system to thermal destruction of toluene promises a new technology for treatment of VOCs.

Catalytic Destruction and Removal of Toluene by Microwave/Fe3O4 System

In this study, the V-doped TiO2 was synthesized by sol-gel method and we evaluate the photocatalytic degrading efficiency of V-TiO2 complexes on azo dye wastewater under irradiation with visible light (λ= 419 nm). The results showed that the Anatase structure and nano size of V-TiO2 complexs were formed and they had better photo-response to visible light than pure TiO2. The efficiency of decoloriztion or destruction efficiency was less than 6 % using TiO2 alone but efficiency of 0.10VT-I was up to 90% after irradiated with visible light for 240 min. These evidences also reveal that the system of V-TiO2 complexes can directly utilize the sunlight and can be used to treat organic pollutants in the practical wastewate treatment factories.

Ta Chih Cheng

Papers

Fluorescence Silica Nanoprobe as a Biomarker for Rapid Detection of Plant Pathogens

Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Porphyrin/TiO2 Complexes Activated by Visible Light

Optimization of Preparation of the TiO2 Photocatalytic Reactor Using the Taguchi Method

Catalytic Destruction and Removal of Toluene by Microwave/Fe3O4 System

Visible Light Activated Photocatalytic Degradation Effect of V-TiO2 on Azo Dye Wastewater