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Graphene-Inspired Films: Capturing Nanoplastics and Blocking Their Path to Crops
Summary
Researchers developed graphene-inspired graphite-coated films that use electrical energy to capture nanoplastics and prevent them from entering crop roots. When powered at 9 volts, these films effectively captured nanoplastics present in soil and reduced their penetration into plant roots by more than 88%. The study suggests that combining these films with solar panels could offer an environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach to protecting food crops from nanoplastic contamination.
In 2020, Italian researchers confirmed the presence of nanoplastics (NPs), smaller than microplastics (MPs), in apples and carrots, raising concerns about the accumulation of NPs in the human body through crop consumption. Given that many MPs carry electrical charges, this study aimed to develop an innovative solution to prevent the penetration of NPs into crops using electrical energy. To confirm whether NPs of styrene acrylonitrile resin used in this study undergo electrical migration, they were exposed to an electric field using copper plates, lead wires, or graphite rods as electrodes. NPs migrated toward the anode (+), and the copper plates and lead wires were transformed after supplying electricity, but not the graphite rods. Since graphite rods have a small surface area and vulnerability to physical damage, graphite powder was coated onto cellophane tape or agar films (CTcGP or AFcGP, respectively) to mimic the graphene structure. At 9 V, graphene-mimic (graphite-based) films effectively captured NPs present in soil and reduced the penetration of NPs into crop roots by more than 88%. Therefore, incorporating solar panels for power supply could enable environmentally friendly and cost-effective applications. This research demonstrates the practicality of an electrochemical solution to address agricultural and crop contamination caused by NPs.