2013/06/01 by Stephen Joseph, ER Graber, C. H. Chia +11 · 2 citations
Materials Science · Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Chemistry · #Clay minerals and soil interactions #Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal #Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics #Biochar #Rhizosphere #Chemistry #Radical #Metal #Oxide #Nano- #Silicate #Nanoparticle #Plant growth #Fertilizer #Chemical engineering #Environmental chemistry #Materials science #Nanotechnology #Organic chemistry #Agronomy #Pyrolysis #Bacteria
paper · doi:10.4155/cmt.13.23
openalex publication_date 2013/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Many biochars have a complex carbon lattice structure with aromatic and aliphatic domains, acidic and basic groups, vacancies, metallic and non-metallic elements, and free radicals. Biochars also have separate mineral oxide, silicate and salt phases, and small and large organic molecules. In the rhizosphere, such constituents can be involved in chemical and biological processes along a soil–microbe–plant continuum, including nutrient cycling, metal chelation and stabilization, redox reactions, and free radical scavenging. It is hypothesized that the greater the amount of these nanoparticles and dissolved components, the greater will be plant and microbial responses. We provide suggestions for developing low-dose, high-efficiency biochar–nanoparticle composites, as well as initial field trial results and detailed characterization of such a biochar–fertilizer composite, to highlight the potential of such biochars.