Enhanced plant growth and harvestable yield through fluorescent copper-based composites

Kotoulas, KT ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-2054, Hinton, T, Macallister, E, Ram, J, Wallis, JD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7259-8783, Jiang, Y, Burrows, AD, Cave, GWV ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4167-1332 and Xie, M, 2026. Enhanced plant growth and harvestable yield through fluorescent copper-based composites. RSC Sustainability. ISSN 2753-8125

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Improving crop productivity without increasing land, energy or chemical inputs is a critical challenge for sustainable agriculture, and spectral conversion materials that transform underutilized ultraviolet radiation into photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) offer a promising solution. Here, we report copper-based luminescent composites that enable wavelength-selective spectral reshaping and evaluate their physiological impact on Raphanus sativus grown under controlled greenhouse conditions. Three complementary materials were developed: melt-quenched glass composites incorporating the copper iodide clusters [Cu4I4(PPh3)4] and [Cu4I4(PPh2Et)4], and flexible cellulose acetate films embedded with copper-carbon nanoassemblies (Cu-CNAs), producing blue-green, yellow, and blue emissions, respectively, within the PAR window. Plant trials revealed clear wavelength dependent responses, with blue and blue-green emission accelerating early foliar expansion, while prolonged exposure to the yellow emitting [Cu4I4(PPh2Et)4] composite delivered the highest final biomass and significantly increased chlorophyll, carotenoid and ascorbic acid content, indicative of enhanced carbon assimilation and photoprotective metabolism. These results demonstrate that copper-based luminescent composites provide a scalable, low-cost and sustainable platform for spectral optimization in controlled environment agriculture, offering a practical materials driven strategy to improve both crop yield and nutritional quality.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	RSC Sustainability
Creators:	Kotoulas, K.T., Hinton, T., Macallister, E., Ram, J., Wallis, J.D., Jiang, Y., Burrows, A.D., Cave, G.W.V. and Xie, M.
Publisher:	Royal Society of Chemistry
Date:	10 April 2026
ISSN:	2753-8125
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1039/d5su00947b DOI 2606829 Other
Rights:	This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	20 Apr 2026 09:02
Last Modified:	20 Apr 2026 09:02
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55566

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads