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Periodically ordered δ-MnO2 nanoarrays were prepared using polystyrene (PS) nanosphere etching combined with hydrothermal growth. The seed layer was obtained by magnetron sputtering of MnO2 target. Then a monolayer of self-assembled close-packed PS nanospheres was deposited on MnO2 seed layer to form a patterned template. The size of PS nanospheres was reduced by reactive ion etching (RIE), and the gaps between PS nanospheres were covered by magnetron sputtering of SiO2 target. After removing the PS nanospheres, periodic MnO2 seed sites were obtained on the substrate for following hydrothermal growth. The ordered nanoarrays with periods of 800 and 500 nm were fabricated by choosing PS nanospheres of different sizes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to confirm that the MnO2 material in the array was in the S phase. The research results provide a method for finding low-cost fabrication of ordered nanoarrays of semiconductor materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron (Fe) is an important trace element involved in many important plant physiological and metabolic processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen metabolism. Plants maintain iron homeostasis through absorption, transporting, storage and redistribution of iron. Iron metabolism is strictly regulated in plants. Iron regulatory transcription factors and iron transporters constitute the regulatory network of plant iron absorption and transport in plants. Ferritin and iron transporter jointly regulate the response to excess iron in plants. In recent years, important progress has been made in understanding how abscisic acid (ABA) regulates iron metabolism in plants. ABA may be used as a signal to regulate the absorption, transportation and reuse of Fe, or to relieve the symptoms of iron stress by regulating the oxidative stress responses in plants. In order to gain deeper insights into the crosstalk of ABA and iron metabolism in plants, this review summarized the mechanisms of iron absorption and transport and metabolic regulatory network in plants, as well as the mechanisms of ABA in regulating iron metabolism. The relationship between ABA and FER-like iron deficiency-induced transcription factor (FIT), iron-regulated transporter 1 (IRT1), and oxidative stress of iron deficiency were highlighted, and future research directions were prospected.