Realizing Visible-Light-Induced Self-Cleaning Property of Cotton through Coating N-TiO₂ Film and Loading AgI Particles

The visible-light-induced self-cleaning property of cotton has been realized by coating N-TiO2 film and loading AgI particles simultaneously. The physical properties were characterized by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, and DRS techniques. The visible light photocatalytic activities of the materials were evaluated using the degradation of methyl orange. In comparison with TiO2–cotton, the dramatic enhancement in the visible light photocatalytic performance of the AgI–N–TiO2–cotton could be attributed to the synergistic effect of AgI and N–TiO2, including generation of visible light photocatalytic activity and the effective electron–hole separations at the interfaces of the two semiconductors. The photocatalytic activity of the AgI–N–TiO2–cotton was fully maintained upon several numbers of photodegradation cycles. In addition, according to the XRD patterns of the AgI–N–TiO2–cotton before and after reaction, AgI was stable in the composites under visible light irradiation. Moreover, a possible mechanism for the excellent and stable photocatalytic activity of AgI–N–TiO2–cotton under visible light irradiation was also proposed

Synthesis of Visible-Light Responsive Graphene Oxide/TiO₂ Composites with p/n Heterojunction

Graphene oxide/TiO2 composites were prepared by using TiCl3 and graphene oxide as reactants. The concentration of graphene oxide in starting solution played an important role in photoelectronic and photocatalytic performance of graphene oxide/TiO2 composites. Either a p-type or n-type semiconductor was formed by graphene oxide in graphene oxide/TiO2 composites. These semiconductors could be excited by visible light with wavelengths longer than 510 nm and acted as sensitizer in graphene oxide/TiO2 composites. Visible-light driven photocatalytic performance of graphene oxide/TiO2 composites in degradation of methyl orange was also studied. Crystalline quality and chemical states of carbon elements from graphene oxide in graphene oxide/TiO2 composites depended on the concentration of graphene oxide in the starting solution. This study shows a possible way to fabricate graphene oxide/semiconductor composites with different properties by using a tunable semiconductor conductivity type of graphene oxide

Table_2_Rumen Microbial Metabolic Responses of Dairy Cows to the Honeycomb Flavonoids Supplement Under Heat-Stress Conditions.XLSX

Flavonoids played critical roles in stabilizing microbial homoeostasis when animals suffered exoteric stresses. However, whether flavonoids attenuated heat stress of dairy cows is still not clear. Therefore, in the present article, flavonoids extracted from honeycomb were supplemented to investigate the production, digestibility, and rumen microbial metabolism responses of cows under heat stress conditions. A total of 600 multiparous dairy herds were randomly allotted into the control treatment (CON), the heat stress (HS) treatment, and the honeycomb flavonoids supplement under heat stress conditions (HF) treatment for a 30-day-long trial. Each treatment contains 4 replicates, with 50 cows in each replicate. Production performances including dry matter intake (DMI), milk production, and milk quality were measured on the basis of replicate. Furthermore, two cows of each replicate were selected for the measurement of the nutrient digestibility, the ruminal fermentable parameters including ruminal pH, volatile fatty acids, and ammonia-N, and the rumen microbial communities and metabolism. Results showed that HF effectively increased DMI, milk yield, milk fat, and ruminal acetate content (p < 0.05) compared with HS. Likewise, digestibility of NDF was promoted after HF supplement compared with HS. Furthermore, relative abundances of rumen microbial diversities especially Succiniclasticum, Pseudobutyrivibrio, Acetitomaculum, Streptococcus, and Succinivibrio, which mainly participated in energy metabolism, significantly improved after HF supplement. Metabolomic investigation showed that HF supplement significantly upregulated relative content of lipometabolic-related metabolites such as phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylethanolamine, while it downregulated biogenic amines. In summary, HF supplement helps proliferate microbial abundances, which further promoted fiber digestibility and energy provision, and ultimately enhances the production performances of dairy cows under heat stress conditions.</p

Table_1_Rumen Microbial Metabolic Responses of Dairy Cows to the Honeycomb Flavonoids Supplement Under Heat-Stress Conditions.XLSX

Flavonoids played critical roles in stabilizing microbial homoeostasis when animals suffered exoteric stresses. However, whether flavonoids attenuated heat stress of dairy cows is still not clear. Therefore, in the present article, flavonoids extracted from honeycomb were supplemented to investigate the production, digestibility, and rumen microbial metabolism responses of cows under heat stress conditions. A total of 600 multiparous dairy herds were randomly allotted into the control treatment (CON), the heat stress (HS) treatment, and the honeycomb flavonoids supplement under heat stress conditions (HF) treatment for a 30-day-long trial. Each treatment contains 4 replicates, with 50 cows in each replicate. Production performances including dry matter intake (DMI), milk production, and milk quality were measured on the basis of replicate. Furthermore, two cows of each replicate were selected for the measurement of the nutrient digestibility, the ruminal fermentable parameters including ruminal pH, volatile fatty acids, and ammonia-N, and the rumen microbial communities and metabolism. Results showed that HF effectively increased DMI, milk yield, milk fat, and ruminal acetate content (p < 0.05) compared with HS. Likewise, digestibility of NDF was promoted after HF supplement compared with HS. Furthermore, relative abundances of rumen microbial diversities especially Succiniclasticum, Pseudobutyrivibrio, Acetitomaculum, Streptococcus, and Succinivibrio, which mainly participated in energy metabolism, significantly improved after HF supplement. Metabolomic investigation showed that HF supplement significantly upregulated relative content of lipometabolic-related metabolites such as phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylethanolamine, while it downregulated biogenic amines. In summary, HF supplement helps proliferate microbial abundances, which further promoted fiber digestibility and energy provision, and ultimately enhances the production performances of dairy cows under heat stress conditions.</p