<p>Researchers from the Academia Sinica and the National Cheng Kung University in Taipei and Tainan have implanted glowing, sea urchin-shaped gold nanoparticles, known as bio light emitting diodes, or bio LEDs, inside the leaves of a plant. The new nanoparticles could replace the electricity powered street light with biologically powered light that removes CO2 from the atmosphere 24 hours a days.<br /><br />“In the future, bio-LED could be used to make roadside trees luminescent at night. This will save energy and absorb CO2 as the bio-LED luminescence will cause the chloroplast to conduct photosynthesis,” Discovery News quoted Yen-Hsun Su in an interview with Chemistry World as saying. The gold, sea urchin-shaped nanoparticles are the key to turning a material that normal absorbs light into one that emits it. <br /><br />Chlorophyll, the photosynthetic pigment that gives leaves their characteristic green colour, is widely known for its ability to absorb certain wavelengths of light. <br /><br />However, under certain circumstances, such as being exposed to violet light, chlorophyll can produce a light of its own. When exposed to light with a wavelengths of about 400 nanometres the normally green coloured chlorophyll glows red.<br /><br />Violet light is hard to come by though, especially at night, when glowing leaves would be useful to drivers and pedestrians. The scientists needed a source of violet light, and found it in the gold nanoparticles.<br /></p>
<p>Researchers from the Academia Sinica and the National Cheng Kung University in Taipei and Tainan have implanted glowing, sea urchin-shaped gold nanoparticles, known as bio light emitting diodes, or bio LEDs, inside the leaves of a plant. The new nanoparticles could replace the electricity powered street light with biologically powered light that removes CO2 from the atmosphere 24 hours a days.<br /><br />“In the future, bio-LED could be used to make roadside trees luminescent at night. This will save energy and absorb CO2 as the bio-LED luminescence will cause the chloroplast to conduct photosynthesis,” Discovery News quoted Yen-Hsun Su in an interview with Chemistry World as saying. The gold, sea urchin-shaped nanoparticles are the key to turning a material that normal absorbs light into one that emits it. <br /><br />Chlorophyll, the photosynthetic pigment that gives leaves their characteristic green colour, is widely known for its ability to absorb certain wavelengths of light. <br /><br />However, under certain circumstances, such as being exposed to violet light, chlorophyll can produce a light of its own. When exposed to light with a wavelengths of about 400 nanometres the normally green coloured chlorophyll glows red.<br /><br />Violet light is hard to come by though, especially at night, when glowing leaves would be useful to drivers and pedestrians. The scientists needed a source of violet light, and found it in the gold nanoparticles.<br /></p>