Iron-Based Nanotechnology Empowers Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Global food security faces mounting pressures from stagnating crop yields, widespread farmland degradation, frequent climate extremes, and nonpoint source pollution from unsustainable agriculture, creating an urgent demand for ecoefficient technologies to advance sustainable agriculture. Iron-based nanomaterials (Fe-NMs)─primarily nanoscale zerovalent iron and iron oxides─have emerged as core functional materials in nanoenabled agriculture, owing to their environmental compatibility, tunable physicochemical properties, cost effectiveness, and redox activity. This review systematically details controllable synthetic paradigms, three mainstream application modalities (foliar spraying, soil amendment, seed priming), and underlying mechanisms for crop growth promotion, abiotic/biotic stress tolerance, and in situ farmland remediation via Fe2+/Fe3+ redox regulation and adsorption-catalytic activity. It critically analyzes bottlenecks restricting large-scale deployment and highlights key research priorities, providing systematic guidance for the safe, standardized development of iron-based nanoagricultural technology.