Fate of Fe3O4@NH2 in soil and their fixation effect to reduce lead translocation in two rice cultivars

The fate of nanoparticles in the ecological chain of agriculture has been concerned as their potential pollution and biological effect to humans with rapid development and massive emission of nanomaterials. Here, we found that two rice cultivars (Oryza sativa L) have different heavy metal accumulation results in the roots and shoots after 15 days growth. Two rice cultivars (Oryza sativa L), grown in soil containing magnetite (Fe3O4@NH2) nanoparticles and heavy metal simultaneous, showed less Pb uptake in the roots and shoots, compared with that without Fe3O4@NH2 added. The shape and magnetic properties of Fe3O4@NH2 have no obvious change; however, the transmission electron microscope (TEM) results showed the shell of Fe3O4@NH2 could be broken in the process of interaction with soil. These results suggested that magnetite nanoparticles, such as Fe3O4@NH2, could potentially be used as the recyclable heavy metal fixation materials for alleviating heavy metal poisoning to plant.