Biological effects of carbon nanotubes generated in forest wildfire ecosystems rich in resinous trees on native plants

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have a broad range of applications and are generally considered human-engineered nanomaterials. However, carbon nanostructures have been found in ice cores and oil wells, suggesting that nature may provide appropriate conditions for CNT synthesis. During forest wildfires, mat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Javier Lara-Romero, Jesús Campos-García, Nabanita Dasgupta-Schubert, Salomón Borjas-García, DK Tiwari, Francisco Paraguay-Delgado, Sergio Jiménez-Sandoval, Gabriel Alonso-Nuñez, Mariela Gómez-Romero, Roberto Lindig-Cisneros, Homero Reyes De la Cruz, Javier A. Villegas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2017-08-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/3658.pdf
Description
Summary:Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have a broad range of applications and are generally considered human-engineered nanomaterials. However, carbon nanostructures have been found in ice cores and oil wells, suggesting that nature may provide appropriate conditions for CNT synthesis. During forest wildfires, materials such as turpentine and conifer tissues containing iron under high temperatures may create chemical conditions favorable for CNT generation, similar to those in synthetic methods. Here, we show evidence of naturally occurring multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) produced from Pinus oocarpa and Pinus pseudostrobus, following a forest wildfire. The MWCNTs showed an average of 10 walls, with internal diameters of ∼2.5 nm and outer diameters of ∼14.5 nm. To verify whether MWCNT generation during forest wildfires has a biological effect on some characteristic plant species of these ecosystems, germination and development of seedlings were conducted. Results show that the utilization of comparable synthetic MWCNTs increased seed germination rates and the development of Lupinus elegans and Eysenhardtia polystachya, two plants species found in the burned forest ecosystem. The finding provides evidence that supports the generation and possible ecological functions of MWCNTs in nature.
ISSN:2167-8359