In response to the reduction of food production and economic losses caused by plant bacterial diseases, it is necessary to develop new, efficient, and green pesticides. Natural products are rich and sustainable source for the development of new pesticides due to their low toxicity, easy degradation, and eco-friendliness. In this study, we prepared three series of ursolic acid derivatives and assessed their antibacterial ability. Most target compounds exhibited outstanding antibacterial activities. Among them, the relative optimal EC₅₀ values of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri were 2.23 (A17) and 1.39 (A16) μg·mL^–1, respectively. The antimicrobial mechanism showed that compound A17 induced an excessive accumulation and production of reactive oxygen species in bacteria and damaged the cell membrane integrity to kill bacteria. More interestingly, the addition of low concentrations of exogenous hydrogen peroxide enhanced the antibacterial efficacy of compound A17 against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. These entertaining results suggested that compound A17 induced an apparent apoptotic behavior in the tested bacteria. Overall, we developed the promising antimicrobial agents that destroyed the redox system of phytopathogenic bacteria, further demonstrating the unprecedented potential of ursolic acid for agricultural applications.

Within the “hydrogen chain”, the high-temperature water gas shift reaction represents a key step to improve the H₂ yield and adjust the H₂/CO_x ratio to fit the constraints of downstream processes. Despite the commercial application of the high-temperature water gas shift, novel catalysts characterized by higher intrinsic activity (especially at low temperatures), good thermal stability, and no chromium content are needed. In this work, we propose bimetallic iron-copper catalysts supported on ceria, characterized by low active phase content (iron oxide + copper oxide < 5 wt %). Fresh and used samples were characterized by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and temperature programmed reduction in hydrogen to relate physicochemical features and catalytic activity. The sample with iron/copper ≈ 1 and 4 wt % active phase content showed the best catalytic properties in terms of turnover frequency, no methane formation, and stability. Its unique properties were due to both strong iron-copper interaction and strong metal-support interaction, leading to outstanding redox behavior.

This study aimed to prepare and apply a novel Pt/CdMoO₄ composite photocatalyst for photocatalytic N₂ fixation and tetracycline degradation. The Pt/CdMoO₄ composite was subjected to comprehensive investigation on the morphology, structure, optical properties, and photoelectric chemical properties. The results demonstrate the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles on the CdMoO₄ surface. Close contact between CdMoO₄ and Pt was observed, resulting in the formation of a heterojunction structure at their contact region. Density functional theory calculation and Mott-Schottky analysis revealed that Pt possesses a higher work function value than CdMoO₄, resulting in electron drift from CdMoO₄ to Pt and the formation of a Schottky barrier. The presence of this barrier increases the separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs, thereby improving the performance of the Pt/CdMoO₄ composite in photocatalysis. When exposed to simulated sunlight, the optimal Pt/CdMoO₄ catalyst displayed a photocatalytic nitrogen fixation rate of 443.7 μmol·L^‒1·g^‒1·h^‒1, which is 3.2 times higher than that of pure CdMoO₄. In addition, the composite also exhibited excellent performance in tetracycline degradation, with hole and superoxide species identified as the primary reactive species. These findings offer practical insights into designing and synthesizing efficient photocatalysts for photocatalytic nitrogen fixation and antibiotics removal.