A Fe³⁺-doped SiO₂/TiO₂ composite film (Fe³⁺-doped STCF) was prepared on a wood surface via a sol–gel method to improve its photocatalytic activity and hydrophobicity. The structure of the composite film was analyzed by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic activity toward degradation of methyl orange and its hydrophobic nature were investigated. The results showed that the composite film was anatase TiO₂ crystal form, and the addition of Fe³⁺ ions and SiO₂ enhanced the diffraction peaks for the anatase crystal form. The photocatalytic activity of the wood coated with the composite film was enhanced. The highest degradation percentage was at 1 wt % Fe³⁺ (40.37%), and the degradation ability of the wood towards methyl orange solution was further improved under acidic conditions. In addition, the composite film was hydrophobic, and the hydrophobic property was enhanced as the immersion time in the sol increased. The wood surface coated with Fe³⁺-doped STCF exhibited strong hydrophobicity and photocatalytic activity, which could effectively prevent moisture from adhering to the surface and degrade organic pollutants; thus, the modified wood surface had good self-cleaning function.

To analyze the chemical composition and evaluate the potential commercial value of Dalbergia odorifera leaves, the chemical component and content of the essential oils (EOs), fatty acids (FAs), polyphenols and flavonoids in the leaves of D. odorifera were studied. The composition of the EOs obtained by simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) (at the yield of 0.092%) and hydro-distillation (HD) (at the yield of 0.050%) from D. odorifera leaves was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Seventy-six compounds were identified and the major compounds were phytol (22.5–24.3%), 4-vinylguaiacol (8.7–12.7%), dihydroedulan II (7.4–11.2%), γ-elemene (5.1–6.2%), cedrol (2.8–6.1%), coumaran (0.9–3.1%) and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (2.5–2.7%). The FA yield extracted by ultrasound was 1.145% (w/w), and the most abundant FA components were palmitic acid (C16:0), oleic acid (C18:1) and linoleic acid (C18:2) in leaves. The results of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoli-ne-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS⁺) radical scavenging experiments demonstrated that the EOs and FAs possess strong antioxidant activity. The ethanol extract of the leaves had a high polyphenol content [16.00 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) g⁻¹ dry weight (DW)] and flavonoid content [8.92 mg rutin equivalent (RE) g⁻¹ DW]. This research has determined qualitatively and quantitatively the isoflavonoids (biochanin A, isoliquiritigenin, tectorigenin and genistein) by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The phytochemical analysis (EOs, FAs and flavonoids) of the extract showed that the D. odorifera leaf is a rich source of high bioactive compounds and might have the potential to be recommended for further cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical applications.

A sapwood tree is a species in which the sapwood does not differ significantly from the heartwood and cannot be classified by shades of color. It is generally accepted that heartwood has a higher economic value than sapwood, but most of the studies related to heartwood formation have focused on heartwood trees, with less research on sapwood trees. In this paper, we take the sapwood tree Schima superba as the research object and analyze the physiological and biochemical changes in the process of heartwood formation by studying the anatomical structure of parenchyma cells, and then further explore the main categories of metabolites and compositional changes. The results showed that during heartwood formation, the parenchyma cells become inactive and the nucleus disappears, while at the same time, the storage substance starch is gradually degraded under the action of enzymes and transformed into secondary metabolites, which include terpenoids, phenols and alkaloids. The accumulation of white and colorless compounds in large quantities in the heartwood, which has some effect on the heartwood color, is an important reason why the heartwood in Schima superba shows normal formation but no difference in color from the sapwood. This study fills a gap in the mechanism of heartwood formation in sapwood trees.