Phosphorus absorbed by the leaves stores and releases light.
To plants the injectable nanoparticles make their leaves illuminate like a lamp, and now the glow has been made brighter. The shimmering effect lasts for an hour at a time, and the magazines can be reloaded several times.
Lighting alone accounts for about one-fifth of the world’s energy consumption. The technique, called nanobiotics, aims to mimic light-producing organisms in nature to reduce electricity consumption.
Shining plants could supply posts such as signal lights, reading lamps and even street lighting.
The first light plants were developed in 2017. Professor of Chemistry at MIT University in the United States Michael Strano and his team took advantage of a chemical process in their experiment that makes the tail of a firefly glow yellow.
The chemical reaction is triggered by an enzyme called luciferase, which oxidizes the luciferin pigment.
When sprayed into the big water wreath, mustard, and spinach, the chemicals provide enough illumination to read the book. The plants remain shiny for four hours.
In a recent study, Strano’s group developed a new generation of photo plants that shine ten times brighter than before. The study was published by Science Advances.
The researchers irrigated the plants with phosphor particles measuring a few hundred nanometers, which were absorbed into the porous layer of the leaves. After that, each magazine was illuminated with LED light for ten seconds.
Tiny particles that store light energy make the plants light up.
Light sources can also be reloaded
Phosphorus acts as a capacitor that stores light energy and gradually releases it. There is enough light from the loaded magazines for an hour: during the first five minutes, the light is at its brightest, after which it slowly fades.
It is possible to reload the same plant for several weeks. After the experiment, the researchers recovered 60 percent of the phosphorus to use in new plants.
The method was tested on five plants, the largest of which is the giant elephant ear. Its leaf is more than 30 centimeters in diameter. Such a large plant could even be used for outdoor lighting, researchers say.
Next, researchers will try to combine phosphorus-based technology with earlier luciferase lighting developed in 2017.
The goal is a light plant that shines even brighter and for longer periods of time at a time.
Published in Science 1/2022
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