Growth changes of tomato seedlings responding to sodium salt of α-naphthalene acetic acid and potassium salt of fulvic acid

In present study, sodium salt of α-naphthalene acetic acid (NA), potassium salt of fulvic acid (KF) and their combinations were applied to the growth substrates of tomato seedlings (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under chilling stress. The changes in aboveground biomass, root attributes, pigment contents, chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthesis, osmotic regulation substances, and antioxidant enzymes activity of the tomato seedlings in response to NA and KF were investigated. The application of NA, KF and their combination could promote the growth of plant height and stem diameter of tomato seedlings under chilling stress to varying degrees, and improve root characteristics by increasing root volume, root length and root activity, and increase dry matter accumulation. In addition, the combined use of NA and KF improved the seedling leaf chlorophyll content, qP, Fv/Fm, ΦPSII , Pn and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the tomato plants. The above results suggested a synergistic effect between NA and KF to stimulate the seedlings growth and to enhance the ROS scavenging ability of tomato, which has never been reported in previous research before. However, further researches are needed to explore the physiological and molecular mechanism underlying the synergistic effect between NA and KF.

High-Performance Hydrogel Adsorbent Based on Cellulose, Hemicellulose, and Lignin for Copper(II) Ion Removal

Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are three kinds of biopolymer in lignocellulosic biomass, and the utilization of the three biopolymers to synthesize hydrogel adsorbent could protect the environment and enhance the economic value of the biomass. A novel hydrogel adsorbent was prepared using cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose of wheat straw by a one-pot method, and the adsorbent showed excellent adsorption performance for copper(II) ions. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that the prepared straw-biopolymer-based hydrogel had porous structure, and cellulose fibrils had crosslinked with lignin and hemicellulose by poly(acrylic acid) chains. The effects of contact time, initial concentration, and temperature on the copper(II) ion removal using the prepared hydrogels were investigated, and the obtained results indicated that the adsorption kinetics conformed to the pseudo-second-order and Elovich equation models and the adsorption isotherm was in accord with the Freundlich model. The adsorption thermodynamics study indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and accompanied by heat. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the adsorption behavior resulted from ion exchange. The prepared hydrogel based on cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin could be used for water treatment and soil remediation because of its high performances of excellent heavy metal ion removal and water retention.

Grafting polymerization of acrylic acid onto chitosan-cellulose hybrid and application of the graft as highly efficient ligand for elimination of water hardness: Validation of high selectivity in presence of interfering ions

Graft Copolymer resulting from polymerization of acrylic acid from chitosan is non-coherent, brittle and exhibit modest swelling in water, which limits its application. Chitosan-cellulose hybrid was initially prepared and novel polymeric ligand ((CTS/Cell)-g-PAA) derived from grafting polymerization of acrylic acid from this hybrid was fabricated and investigated using fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, the graft copolymer exhibited high mass transfer under a wide range of pH values due to its elevated hydrophilicity in addition to a good mechanical strength with respect to the comparable graft derived from chitosan as sole backbone for the grafting. The high content of different oxygen and nitrogen-containing groups in a crowded chemical atmosphere along with the high swelling qualified the graft to act as very efficient polymeric ligand with high capacity of removal of metal ions from water under broad conditions. The polymeric ligand performed outstandingly and competitively in the removal of water hardness even in presence of other interfering ions.