{"title":"Targeted fortification of phenolic hydroxyl groups in humic acid to further enhance urea use efficiency in maize seedling","authors":"Yingqiang Zhang , Shuiqin Zhang , Ji Xue , Bingqiang Zhao , Yanting Li , Meng Xu , Jiukai Xu , Jianyuan Jing , Liang Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.eti.2024.103953","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phenolic hydroxyl group (ArOH) plays an important role in humic acid (HA) enhancing nitrogen (N) fertilizer efficiency. However, the content of ArOH in HA is usually low, while its traditional enriching modification are inefficient or even showed a potential toxicity risk. In this work, we developed a novel catalyst named CuO@Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> enriched with mesopores and oxygen vacancies, and target-modified HA to increase its ArOH using a feasible mechanical catalytic method. The results showed that phenolic-rich HA (CuO@Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-HA) were successfully prepared with 40 % higher ArOH content than HA, which was consistent with the 43.13 % increase in C-O/Ar-O content in XPS C1s spectra. Compared to RHA, CuO@Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-HA had less tannin attributed to the Ar-C bond breakage catalyzed by CuO@Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> to form ArOH. Subsequently, we prepared CuO@Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-HA-enhanced urea (CuO@Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-HAU), and found that CuO@Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-HAU improved maize seedling growth by the elevation of leaf chlorophyll content (by 8.78 %) and lowering N loss by NH<sub>3</sub> volatilization inhibition (by 12.43 %), thus enhanced the biomass and N uptake of maize seedling by 11.29 % and 21.22 %, respectively, compared to RHA-enhanced urea (RHAU). Therefore, this study provided a method to enrich the ArOH content of HA, and a green approach for the upgrading of high-efficiency urea products.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11725,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Technology & Innovation","volume":"37 ","pages":"Article 103953"},"PeriodicalIF":6.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Technology & Innovation","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352186424004292","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Targeted fortification of phenolic hydroxyl groups in humic acid to further enhance urea use efficiency in maize seedling
Phenolic hydroxyl group (ArOH) plays an important role in humic acid (HA) enhancing nitrogen (N) fertilizer efficiency. However, the content of ArOH in HA is usually low, while its traditional enriching modification are inefficient or even showed a potential toxicity risk. In this work, we developed a novel catalyst named CuO@Al2O3 enriched with mesopores and oxygen vacancies, and target-modified HA to increase its ArOH using a feasible mechanical catalytic method. The results showed that phenolic-rich HA (CuO@Al2O3-HA) were successfully prepared with 40 % higher ArOH content than HA, which was consistent with the 43.13 % increase in C-O/Ar-O content in XPS C1s spectra. Compared to RHA, CuO@Al2O3-HA had less tannin attributed to the Ar-C bond breakage catalyzed by CuO@Al2O3 to form ArOH. Subsequently, we prepared CuO@Al2O3-HA-enhanced urea (CuO@Al2O3-HAU), and found that CuO@Al2O3-HAU improved maize seedling growth by the elevation of leaf chlorophyll content (by 8.78 %) and lowering N loss by NH3 volatilization inhibition (by 12.43 %), thus enhanced the biomass and N uptake of maize seedling by 11.29 % and 21.22 %, respectively, compared to RHA-enhanced urea (RHAU). Therefore, this study provided a method to enrich the ArOH content of HA, and a green approach for the upgrading of high-efficiency urea products.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Technology & Innovation adopts a challenge-oriented approach to solutions by integrating natural sciences to promote a sustainable future. The journal aims to foster the creation and development of innovative products, technologies, and ideas that enhance the environment, with impacts across soil, air, water, and food in rural and urban areas.
As a platform for disseminating scientific evidence for environmental protection and sustainable development, the journal emphasizes fundamental science, methodologies, tools, techniques, and policy considerations. It emphasizes the importance of science and technology in environmental benefits, including smarter, cleaner technologies for environmental protection, more efficient resource processing methods, and the evidence supporting their effectiveness.