Probing the stability and quality of the cellulose-based Pickering emulsion containing sesamolin-enriched sesame oil by chemometrics-assisted ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

This study presents the employment of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection and principal component analysis (PCA) to analyze the stability of a Pickering emulsion stabilized by carboxylated-cellulose nanocrystal (cCNC) comprising sesame oil phases with or without sesamolin. FTIR measurements identified an intermolecular hydrogen bond between the ester group of the triglyceride and the carboxyl group of the cCNC to create the emulsion droplet. The spectral bands from the hydroxyl group vibration (3700-3050 cm-1), carbonyl (1744 cm-1), CO groups of the ester triglyceride and cCNC (1160-998 cm-1) markedly discriminated between stabilized and destabilized emulsions. The PCA of FTIR spectra detected the change of molecular interaction during storage according to creaming, aggregation, and coalescence and changes in physicochemical parameters such as droplet size, refractive index, and zeta potential. Hence, PCA enabled the observation of the destabilization of emulsion in real-time.

Tailoring visible-light active TiO2/cellulose nanocomposites with controlled crystalline structure for enhanced photocatalytic performance.

This work involves a green and simple synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles on cellulose under mild conditions without the need for calcination via hydrolysis of titanium oxysulfate (TiOSO4). The synthesis conditions, such as sulfuric acid concentration (0-10% wt), temperature (70-90 â„ƒ), and time (4-8 h), focused on precisely controlling the structure of TiO2 to enhance its photocatalytic effectiveness under visible light. At a lower 2.5 wt% sulfuric acid concentration, pure anatase was formed on the cellulose, while an increase in the range of 5.0-7.5 wt% sulfuric acid concentration yielded a rutile phase, resulting in a mixed phase of anatase and rutile on the cellulose. The pure rutile phase was found at a low temperature (70 â„ƒ), while increased temperature led to the formation of the anatase phase. These results confirmed that the formation of crystalline TiO2 phase on the cellulose depended on sulfuric acid concentration and temperature for hydrolysis. Additionally, the photocatalytic properties of the obtained materials were evaluated by degradationvisible of Rhodamine B (RhB) under UV and visible light. The findings revealed that the mixed phase (anatase/rutile) of TiO2 on the cellulose demonstrated a superior photocatalytic efficiency (99.2%) compared to pure anatase (85.75%) and rutile (75.08%) when exposed to visible light.

Enhancing the multifunctional properties of cellulose fabrics through in situ hydrothermal deposition of TiO2 nanoparticles at low temperature for antibacterial self-cleaning under UV-Vis illumination.

This study aimed to improve the multifunctional properties (including photocatalysis, stability reusability, self-cleaning, antibacterial effects, and thermal radiation shielding) of cellulose fabrics through incorporation of TiO2 nanoparticles. To achieve this, anatase TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized in situ and deposited onto cotton fabrics through hydrothermal method. The presence of TiO2 nanoparticles in cellulose fabrics greatly enhanced the photocatalytic efficiency and adsorption range and did not damage the fabric fibers. The TiO2-coated cotton exhibited an outstanding photocatalytic efficiency, with dye removal rates of 92.20 % ± 0.015 % and 99.68 % ± 0.002 % under UV-A and visible illumination, respectively. In addition, the material exhibited thermal radiation shielding properties, in which no heat absorption was observed within 60 min at 40 °C-70 °C. To further enhance the hydrophobicity, the TiO2-coated cotton was surface-modified with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PFDTS). The resulting PFDTS/TiO2-coated cotton was superhydrophobic with a water contact angle of 156.50° ± 0.05° with a sliding angle of 4.33° ± 0.47° and roughness of 67.35 nm. The superhydrophobicity of the PFDTS/TiO2-coated cotton also facilitated self-cleaning through water injection to remove soil impurities. Furthermore, the PFDTS/TiO2-coated cotton exerted antibacterial effects against gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria under UV-A or visible illumination. These nanocomposite fabrics with multifunctional properties have potential for industrial, military, and medical applications.

MOFs as Versatile Catalysts: Synthesis Strategies and Applications in Value-Added Compound Production.

Catalysts played a crucial role in advancing modern human civilization, from ancient times to the industrial revolution. Due to high cost and limited availability of traditional catalysts, there is a need to develop cost-effective, high-activity, and nonprecious metal-based electrocatalysts. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as an ideal candidate for heterogeneous catalysis due to their physicochemical properties, hybrid inorganic/organic structures, uncoordinated metal sites, and accessible organic sections. MOFs are high nanoporous crystalline materials that can be used as catalysts to facilitate polymerization reactions. Their chemical and structural diversity make them effective for various reactions compared to traditional catalysts. MOFs have been applied in gas storage and separation, ion-exchange, drug delivery, luminescence, sensing, nanofilters, water purification, and catalysis. The review focuses on MOF-enabled heterogeneous catalysis for value-added compound production, including alcohol oxidation, olefin oligomerization, and polymerization reactions. MOFs offer tunable porosity, high spatial density, and single-crystal XRD control over catalyst properties. In this review, MOFs were focused on reactions of CO2 fixation, CO2 reduction, and photoelectrochemical water splitting. Overall, MOFs have great potential as versatile catalysts for diverse applications in the future.

Controllability, antiproliferative activity, Ag+ release, and flow behavior of silver nanoparticles deposited onto cellulose nanocrystals.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)/carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals (Ag-cCNC) from Eucalyptus pulp were prepared using a three-step process. The cCNC were synthesized by oxidation of CNC from Eucalyptus pulp with ammonium persulfate, followed by a hydrothermal reaction to form Ag-cCNC. The Ag-cCNC was then characterized with respect to Ag+ release, flow behavior, and anticancer activity for potential applications in biomedicine and drug delivery. AgNPs with particle sizes in the range of 16.25 ± 7.83 to 21.84 ± 7.21 nm were uniformly embedded on the surface of the cCNC. The Ag-cCNC exhibited a slow and controllable release of Ag+ at a rate of 0.02 % per day for 28 days. Ag+ release was best described by the Korsmeyer-Peppas model based on non-Fickian diffusion. The Ag-cCNC at 200 µg/mL exerted antiproliferative activity in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells with 1.01 % ± 0.35 % cell viability and was non-toxic against normal Vero cells with 90 % viability. In contrast, the chemotherapeutic drug melphalan exhibited cytotoxic effects against both MCF-7 and Vero cells. The Ag-cCNC samples showed shear thinning properties with a pseudoplastic fluid behavior, indicating that Ag-cCNCs are suitable for drug delivery by injection.

Rheology, stability, antioxidant properties, and curcumin release of oil-in-water Pickering emulsions stabilized by rice starch nanoparticles.

Modification of rice starch nanoparticles (SNP) as an emulsifier in Pickering emulsions is reported in this work. The SNP was prepared by HCl hydrolysis with different resident times and subsequently modified via crosslinking by citric acid using various crosslinking times to improve the hydrophobicity of SNP. The modified SNP was used to prepare sunflower oil-in-water Pickering emulsions loaded with curcumin. The optimal hydrolysis conditions (2.2 M HCl, 6 days) produced SNP with a 21.87 ± 0.69 % yield and 45.56 ± 0.00 % crystallinity. The citric acid-modified SNP with a 6-h crosslinking period (SNP-M-6 h) had a water contact angle of 87.2°. The suitable Pickering emulsion containing 30 wt% curcumin-loaded sunflower oil was stabilized by 3.0 wt% SNP-M-6 h. This Pickering emulsion had shear thinning properties with a pseudoplastic fluid behavior and was characterized by a droplet size of 47.16 ± 4.22 µm with a high degree of stability over five weeks of storage. Furthermore, the curcumin release from the emulsion depended on the pH, and curcumin could maintain its free radical scavenging quality. A very beneficial property of the Pickering emulsion is that it can slowly release curcumin at low pH, but more rapid release at higher pH, making it a potentially excellent candidate for drug delivery through oral intake.

Production of reducing sugar from cassava starch waste (CSW) using solution plasma process (SPP).

The cassava starch processing plays an important role in food industries. During starch processing stage, a large amount of cassava starch waste (CSW) which mainly contains lost starch product and solid residue such as cassava bagasse are produced. Starch and cassava bagasse can be hydrolyzed into fermentable sugar such as glucose. In the present study, the solution plasma process (SPP) is used to treat CSW to prepare reducing sugar. The investigated parameters are treatment time, solvent concentration, applied pulsed frequency, and CSW concentration. The %yield of total reducing sugar (TRS) and glucose were calculated by DNS method and glucose assay kit, respectively. The chemical structure, morphology, and crystal structure of plasma-treated CSW were investigated. The results showed that the %yield of TRS was greatly enhanced by SPP treatment compared to that of acid hydrolysis. The CSW powder completely broke down into pieces after SPP treatment was applied. The amorphous and crystalline regions of CSW were destroyed during SPP treatment. SPP treatment of CSW with light sulfuric acid concentration of 0.08 M, applied pulsed frequency of 30 kHz, and CSW concentration of 0.5%w/v provided 99.0% TRS and 47.9% glucose.