THE EFFECT OF FUNCTIONALIZED MULTI-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES (F-MWCNTS) ON TOMATO PLANTS (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM)
Surfactants increased the steric hindrance as well as the charge repulsion between nearby CNT particles, which improved their suspension, according to dynamic light scattering (DLS) investigations. In addition, hydroxyl alteration of MWCNTs resulted in stable dispersions in water containing HA at 10 and 1000 mg/L, but COOH-MWCNT suspensions only showed stable dispersion with decreased negative surface charges at 100 mg/L. Agglomerates were significantly reduced in the f-MWCNT kinds. The surface characteristics of f-MWCNTs were found to have an important role in the possible hazardous consequences of CNTs. Due to their well-distributed stability in water, the interaction between the HA-CNTs and the plants increased development in terms of water intake, growth rate, chlorophyll index, dry weight, and root elongation rate. Furthermore, there were no variations in chlorophyll concentration between the f-MWCNT and HA plant groups. The f-MWCNTs dramatically improved the plants' growth, water transpiration, and dry shoot and root weight. Exposure to OH-MWCNTs appeared to benefit tomato development in terms of water uptake, root elongation rate, and growth rate, but exposure to COOH-MWCNTs appeared to be hazardous in terms of root leakage and growth rate. Overall, our findings imply that the surface features of CNTs, as well as their dispersion stability, determine their impact on tomato plant growth. According to our findings, there is a strong link between the toxicity of f-MWCNTs and the toxicity of the dispersing agent. Thus, MWCNTs with hydroxyl modifications were found to be stable.
Keywords: Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Phytotoxicity, Humic Acid, OH-Mwcnts And COOH-Mwcnts.