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Promotion effect of graphene on phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil

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Abstract

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench was selected as a remediation plant in this study, and different concentrations of graphene oxide (GO) were added to Cd-contaminated soil. Through pot experiments, the effect of E. purpurea on Cd-contaminated soil was determined at 60 days, 120 days, and 150 days. A preliminary study on the remediation mechanism of GO was explored through changes in the forms of Cd in the rhizosphere soil, soil pH, and soil functional groups. Results showed that the optimal concentration of GO was 0.4 g/kg, and under the condition, the accumulation of Cd in the roots of E. purpurea was as high as 113.69 ± 23.86 mg/kg, and the maximum EF reached 5.87 ± 1.34. Compared with those of the control group, accumulated Cd concentration and EF in the roots increased by 60.34% and 2.32, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that the absorption and accumulation of Cd was negatively correlated with the exchangeable Cd content at 120 days, and the exchangeable Cd was negatively correlated with the relative content of functional groups in the soil with 0.4 g/kg GO (E2). The artificial application of GO to the soil can be used as an effective way to improve the effect of E. purpurea in the remediation of Cd soil pollution, and it has great application potential in the stabilization of plants and vegetations and restoration of high-concentration Cd-contaminated soil.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the National Field Research Station of Shenyang Agroecosystems for providing the experimental site for completing this study. We also thank the Department of Computational Biology at the Beijing Computing Center for providing technical assistance.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31770545, 31470547) and Special Project for Social Development of Yunnan Province (202103AC100001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China

    Xingyu Deng

  2. Institute of Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China

    Rui Liu

  3. Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 100016, China

    Liqun Hou

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  1. Xingyu Deng
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  2. Rui Liu
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  3. Liqun Hou
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Conceptualization, Rui Liu; software, Xingyu Deng; experiment, Liqun Hou and Xingyu Deng; validation, Xingyu Deng and Liqun Hou; data curation, Xingyu Deng; writing—original draft preparation, Xingyu Deng; writing-review and editing, Rui Liu; funding acquisition, Rui Liu. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rui Liu.

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Highlights

• The accumulation of Cd in the roots of E. purpurea increased by 60.34%, reaching 113.69 ± 23.86 mg/kg with 0.4 g/kg GO.

• GO increased the relative density of functional groups such as OH, C=O, and C=C in the rhizosphere soil of E. purpurea.

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Deng, X., Liu, R. & Hou, L. Promotion effect of graphene on phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 74319–74334 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20765-2

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