Amending soil with biochar (pyrolized biomass) is suggested as a globally applicable approach to address climate change and soil degradation by carbon sequestration, reducing soil-borne greenhouse-gas emissions and increasing soil nutrient retention. Biochar was shown to promote plant growth, especially when combined with nutrient-rich organic matter, e.g., co-composted biochar. Plant growth promotion was explained by slow release of nutrients, although a mechanistic understanding of nutrient storage in biochar is missing. Here we identify a complex, nutrient-rich organic coating on co-composted biochar that covers the outer and inner (pore) surfaces of biochar particles using high-resolution spectro(micro)scopy and mass spectrometry. Fast field cycling nuclear magnetic resonance, electrochemical analysis and gas adsorption demonstrated that this coating adds hydrophilicity, redox-active moieties, and additional mesoporosity, which strengthens biochar-water interactions and thus enhances nutrient retention. This implies that the functioning of biochar in soil is determined by the formation of an organic coating, rather than biochar surface oxidation, as previously suggested.

Background: Synergistic interplay of cellulases is key for efficiency of cellulose hydrolysis.Results: In situ observation of individual and synergistic action of endo- and exo-cellulases on a polymorphic cellulose substrate reveals specificity of individual enzyme components for crystalline or amorphous regions.Conclusion: Cellulase synergism is governed by mesoscopic morphological characteristics of the cellulose substrate.Significance: Advanced knowledge basis for rational optimization of cellulose saccharification.

S. (2017). Nanoscale analyses of the surface structure and composition of biochars extracted from field trials or after co-composting using advanced analytical electron microscopy. Geoderma, Nanoscale analyses of the surface structure and composition of biochars extracted from field trials or after co-composting using advanced analytical electron microscopy Abstract Biochars have been recognized as an important material to improve soil properties. In a number of studies their beneficial properties have been found to increase with residence time in soil and during the composting process. The beneficial properties have been correlated with surface functional groups resulting from the interactions between char particles, inorganic and organic matter in the soil and soil biota. These interactions result in the formation of organo-mineral phases on the internal and external surfaces of the biochar. A paucity of information exists, particularly from longer-term field trials, on organo-mineral phases present on both the internal and external surfaces of the biochar. To characterize the structure of, and interface between, the carbon and mineral phases, we examined biochars recovered from two field trials and after composting from different countries using high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning TEM (STEM), energy electron loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) at resolutions of 1-20 nm. The work revealed the formation of porous agglomerates of different minerals/inorganic compounds bound together with organic compounds on the surfaces of the biochar. In some cases, these agglomerates were bound together to form organo-mineral associations. The analyses also showed that the organic compounds containing both N and C functional groups and mixed valence iron oxide nanoparticles are possibly interacting with the organic compounds. The analysis also showed the formation of pores at the interface of the carbon matrix and organomineral aggregates. S. (2017). Nanoscale analyses of the surface structure and composition of biochars extracted from field trials or after co-composting using advanced analytical electron microscopy. Geoderma, 294 70-79.

Porous, polymer-based materials are increasingly used as stationary phases in separation science and catalysis, yet their morphology remains largely unknown. The main difficulty lies in reconciling their soft matter nature with the demands of microscopic imaging techniques. We analyze the morphology of a hyper-cross-linked poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) monolith in capillary column format from a sample volume of 60.5 × 60.5 × 19.9 μm(3) reconstructed by serial block-face scanning electron microscopy. To obtain a suitable specimen, the polymer skeleton was stained with tetraphenyllead and the void space filled with resin before the whole monolith was resin-embedded after removing the fused-silica capillary. Chord length distribution analysis revealed characteristic lengths of 7.32 and 0.73 μm, corresponding to two distinct macropore types. The macroporosity (77% on average) was found to increase systematically from the wall to the center. Our results provide valuable insights into the formation process of the monolith and its stationary-phase properties.