- MIT researchers embedded plant leaves with rechargeable nanoparticles that absorb and emit light.
- After a 10-second charge with an LED light, the nanoparticles glow in the dark for several minutes.
- “This is a big step toward plant-based lighting,” one of the researchers said.
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Scientists are working on a rechargeable, glow-in-the-dark plant that could replace some of the energy-intensive electric lights we currently rely on.
The technology works thanks to nanoparticles that get embedded near the surface of leaves. A 10-second charge from an LED light lasting charges the nanoparticles enough for the plant to then glow brightly for several minutes, and the nanoparticles can be repeatedly recharged.
New research, published in the journal Science Advances, is part of a growing field called plant nanobionics – using nanoparticles to add extra functions and capabilities to living plants. This is the second generation of the technology that scientists have developed.
“We wanted to create a light-emitting plant with particles that will absorb light, store some of it, and emit it gradually,” Michael Strano, a chemical engineering from MIT and co-author of the new study, said in a press release. “This is a big step toward plant-based lighting.”
Material that can absorb and emit light inside plant leaves
At the core of the glowing plants are capacitors that can store light in the form of photons, then release them over time. A compound called strontium aluminate was used as a phosphor – a material that can absorb visible and ultraviolet light, and emit it as a glow.
Strontium aluminate can be formed into nanoparticles, which Strano’s team then coated in silica to protect them from damage. The researchers embedded the nanoparticles in a plant’s stomata – the small pores on the surface of leaves that allow gases to pass in or out of the plant’s tissues.
The team was able to get the technology working in five plant species that each had leaves of different sizes: basil, watercress, tobacco, daisy, and the Thailand elephant ear plant.
“We need to have an intense light, delivered as one pulse for a few seconds, and that can charge it,” Pavlo Gordiichuk, an MIT nanoscientist and study co-author, said in the release.
“We also showed that we can use big lenses, such as a Fresnel lens, to transfer our amplified light a distance more than 1 meter. This is a good step toward creating lighting at a scale that people could use,” he added.
Further analysis revealed that the plants were still photosynthesizing normally, and could continue to evaporate water through their stomata. After the experiments, the scientists were able to extract and reuse around 60% of the phosphors that had been used.
What makes the technology even more promising is that it’s a significant upgrade over the first-generation nanoparticles used to make glowing plants. Those particles used luciferase and luciferin enzymes (found in fireflies) to produce a very dim glow.
The researchers said one day different types of nanoparticles could be combined in the same plant.
We’re still a ways from this technology being something that can be used practically – researchers seem to be able to recharge a leaf for only two weeks or so. But it’s undoubtedly a bright innovation to keep an eye on for the future.
“Creating ambient light with the renewable chemical energy of living plants is a bold idea,” Sheila Kennedy, another study co-author, said in the release. “It represents a fundamental shift in how we think about living plants and electrical energy for lighting.”