ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The stem of Abroma augusta contains mucilaginous polysaccharides having numerous ethnomedicinal properties. The present work aimed to develop a scalable ultrasonic-assisted aqueous Abroma augusta mucilage (AAM) extraction (UAE) method and further explores its emulsifying property and toxicity concern. RESULTS: The combination of ultrasonic power (750 W), solid-to-liquid ratio (1:15) and temperature (348 K) gave the highest extraction yield of 2.28% with a diffusivity value of 3.85 × 10-9 m2 s-1, which was higher than aqueous extraction method using a kinetic model based on Fick's second law of diffusion. The extracted polysaccharide showed no toxicity as measured through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay on RAW cell line. Additionally, the polysaccharide over its critical micelle concentration (400, 500, 600 and 700 µg mL-1) offered emulsifying properties with 0.5%, 1% and 5% oil (v/v). The emulsion with a polysaccharide concentration of 600 µg mL-1 with 5% oil (v/v) provides stability against coalescence for 3 days. CONCLUSION: The overall findings indicated that UAE of AAM polysaccharide can be used for an efficient extraction method, and the obtained polysaccharide is nontoxic in nature and bears emulsifying properties. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
ABSTRACT
A quadrilateral disk-shaped FeWO4 nanocrystal (NC) with an average size of â¼35 nm was prepared via hydrothermal reaction. The obtained dark brown FeWO4 NC with a bandgap (Eg) of 1.98 eV was then coupled with TiO2 to form FeWO4/TiO2 composites. The valence band (VB) of FeWO4 (+2.8 eV vs NHE) was more positive than that of TiO2 (+2.7 eV); thus this system could be classified as a Type-B heterojunction. Under visible-light irradiation, 5/95 FeWO4/TiO2 (by wt %) exhibited remarkable photocatalytic activity: the amount of CO2 evolved from gaseous 2-propanol (IP) and the decomposition rate of aqueous salicylic acid (SA) were, respectively, 1.7 and 2.5 times greater than those of typical nitrogen-doped TiO2 (N-TiO2). This unique catalytic property was deduced to arise from the intersemiconductor hole transfer between the VBs of FeWO4 and TiO2. Herein, several experimental evidence were also provided to confirm the hole-transfer mechanism. To further enhance the catalytic efficiency, double-heterojunctioned FeWO4/TiO2/CdS composites were prepared by loading CdS quantum dots (QDs) onto the FeWO4/TiO2 surface. Surprisingly, the catalytic activity for evolving CO2 from IP was 2.6 times greater than that of bare FeWO4/TiO2 and 4.4 times greater than that of N-TiO2, suggesting that both holes and electrons were essential species in decomposing organic compounds.
