Mono-dispersed monoclinic bismuth vanadate (m-BiVO 4 ) octahedral single crystals were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal route in the presence of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS). Electron microscope observation revealed that the synthesized m-BiVO 4 octahedral single crystals were grown with preferentially facets {120} and {021}. The size of these single crystalline octahedra could be facially adjusted in a broad range from 5 mm to less than 200 nm. The influences of additive SDBS, reaction time and acid concentration were studied to understand the formation process, and hence a typical super-saturation process combined Oswald ripening process was proposed. Furthermore, these octahedral single crystals exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance determined by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation.
In this paper, g-Bi 2 O 3 , considered as the best photocatalyst among all Bi 2 O 3 polymorphs, was successfully prepared on the surface of m-BiVO 4 octahedral crystals through an alkaline "etching" process. Extensive XRD, SEM and TEM characterization revealed the formation of a p-n junction in the form of m-BiVO 4 @g-Bi 2 O 3 core-shell heterostructure. In addition, the alkaline concentration and reaction time during the etching process were studied and found to be critical parameters in the formation and yield of the Bi 2 O 3 phase. The visible-light photocatalytic activities of these heterogeneous samples with different g-Bi 2 O 3 /m-BiVO 4 phase ratios were evaluated for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The results indicated that with an optimum amount of g-Bi 2 O 3 on the m-BiVO 4 surface, the powders showed superior photocatalytic performance over pure m-BiVO 4 octahedral crystals. The enhancement mechanisms were discussed based on the specific surface area and g-Bi 2 O 3 shell thickness, as well as the influences of improved charge carrier transfer on the p-n heterostructure.
Adipocyte dysfunction is a major cause of obesity, which is associated strongly with many disorders including psychological and medical morbidities, metabolic abnormalities, and cardiovascular diseases as well as a series of cancers. This study investigated the antiadipogenic activity of scutellarin (1) in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms. It was observed that 1 reduced adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells potently, as evidenced by a decrease in cellular lipid accumulation. At the molecular level, mRNA expression of the master adipogenic transcription factors, PPARγ and C/EBPα, was decreased markedly. However, mRNA levels of C/EBPβ, the upstream regulator of PPARγ and C/EBPα, were not decreased by 1. Moreover, a dose-dependent upregulation of PPARα was observed for 1. Computational modeling indicated that 1 can bind to PPARα, γ, and δ each in a distinct manner, while it can activate PPARα only by forming a hydrogen bond with Y464, thus stabilizing the AF-2 helix and activating PPARα. Therefore, these results suggest that 1, a major component of Scutellaria baicalensis, attenuates fat cell differentiation by upregulating PPARα as well as downregulating the expression of PPARγ and C/EBPα, thus showing therapeutic potential for obesity-related diseases.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.