1. Investigation of physicochemical and biological properties of boron-doped biochar.
- Author
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Ateş, Ayten, Aydemir, Burçak, and Öksüz, Kerim Emre
- Abstract
Boron doping of biochar leads to the formation of activated oxygen species and pores and defects in the carbon structure Therefore, boron-containing biochar was prepared by treating boric acid (H
3 BO3 ) solutions in different concentrations of hazelnut shells before pyrolysis. DSC results showed that treatment of biomass with solutions containing a low concentration (0.1 wt. %) of H3 BO3 increased the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose, but also increased char formation. However, treatment with solutions containing 2% and 5% H3 BO3 increased biochar oxidation with the formation of boron oxide (B2 O3 ). The FT-IR and XPS results showed the presence of B–B, B–O, and B–O–B in the H3 BO3 treatment, which is due to the formation of B2 O3 . The examination of the proliferation of L929 mouse fibroblast cells in response to different concentrations of boron-containing biochars using the MTT assay revealed that biochar treated with 2% H3 BO3 promoted cell growth (100.32 ± 1.93). However, above this concentration, the formation of polycrystalline B2 O3 species exhibited an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation (81.98 ± 1.26) in the samples of H3 BO3 -doped biochar with 5% concentration. The results of the in vitro hemolysis tests for undoped biochar and high boron-containing (% 5) biochar sample showed mild hemolytic activity, with percentages of 2.46 ± 0.02 and 3.08 ± 0.04, respectively, according to the reported standards. Antimicrobial studies have shown that Candida albicans (a yeast, ATCC 10231) is more sensitive to H3 BO3 than Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria, ATCC 29213). Boron-containing biochar can be used in a variety of applications, including biosensing, drug delivery, biological scaffolds, and biological imaging, as well as an adsorbent in the removal of pollutants and a catalyst in oxidation and electrochemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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