PHYTOTOXICITY OF HALLOYSITE SUPPORTED IONIC LIQUID-LIKE PHASE (HNT-SILLP) CATALYST ON RAPHANUS SATIVUS L.

Abstract

Nanotechnologies and nanomaterials are increasingly involved in the production of fillers, opacifiers, catalysts, semiconductors, cosmetics, microelectronic components and drug carriers with improved properties. Nevertheless, the production, use and disposal of nanomaterials, will inevitably lead to their release into the soil, with potential phytotoxicity on plants and negative impacts on economy, society and environment (1). In the last years halloysite nanotubes (HNT) emerged as promising materials with appealing perspective for technological applications. We have recently reported the generation of HNT derivatives carrying octylimidazolium moieties on the external surface (HNT supported ionic liquid-like phase, HNT-SILLP) and employed them as supports for palladium catalyst (HNT-SILLP/Pd) (2, 3). These studies have shown that these materials are good catalysts and encourage their potential application in large-scale industrial processes. The present research aimed to investigate the potential phytotoxicity of HNT, HNT-SILLP and HNT-SILLP/Pd, by considering different endpoints as seed germination physiology and cytogenetic analyses.