According to Mehr news agency, quoted from Amirkabir University of Technology, Reza Khosravi Zanjani, a doctoral stude of Amirkabir University of Technology and project manager, said: The research team of Amirkabir University of Technology, under the guidance of Majid Abdos, professor of the chemistry faculty of this university, succeeded in syhesizing 7 polymer nanocomposites with the aim of increasing the resistance of plas against water stress, dealing with the water shortage crisis, and preveing the drying of trees.
He added: The Faculty of Chemistry of Amir Kabir University of Technology has put extensive studies and researches in the field of reducing the problems of air pollution and fine dust on its agenda. One of the most importa actions in this direction is the developme of green space, the first limitation of which is the limitation of water resources.
Khosravi stated that 90-93% of the available water in the coury is consumed in the agricultural sector and 7-10% of it is for domestic and industrial use. Therefore, any manageme and action to reduce water consumption in the agricultural sector will be more effective than other sectors, and in this regard, a project to manage water consumption in order to develop urban green spaces and reduce water consumption in the agricultural sector was put on the agenda of this faculty. In this project, polymer nanocomposites and nanocoatings have been syhesized using differe nanoparticles.
The organizer of the project stated that this project was a joi project between the Faculty of Chemistry and the Nanotechnology Research Institute of Amirkabir University of Technology, and stated: Nanotechnology is a science that has penetrated io every field and has achieved amazing results. In this project, which is modeled after nature itself, very surprising results have been obtained beyond the expectations of many researchers.
Khosravi Zanjani coinued: In order to increase the resistance of plas against water stress and drought, an in-depth study was conducted on the mechanisms of nature, and the most importa part of the research was the microscopic examination of pla openings (stroma) and how they are placed in the leaf.
Referring to the results obtained from this research, he poied out: In the results, it was found that the stomata of some plas, such as oleander, are located in deep pits known as stomatal caves, inside which there are many cracks that reduce the rapid flow of air. These pits and cracks preve the rapid impact of air flow and reduce the relative humidity difference between the inside of the leaf and the outside.
Khosravi added: This structure makes changes in temperature and air flow have less effect on the opening and closing of the stomata, and the pla loses less moisture, and as a result, shows high resistance to water stress.
He added: By modeling this natural mechanism, we syhesized 7 polymer nanocomposites so that we can create the structure of stomatal pits artificially or design nanocoatings that have a similar role. Microscopic images clearly show the success of this great project.
Khosravi emphasized: This success, in addition to definitely saving garden trees and urban greenery in drought, can help in the near future to expand the area under cultivation of agricultural products, especially grains such as wheat, barley and rice, and is very promising.
