Vesicle-coacervate-driven efficient deposition of sprayed droplet on hydrophobic soybean leaf surfaces

Abstract

The inherent superhydrophobic plant’s leaves cause the low deposition efficiency of pesticides for improving the Crop production. Herein, we modulated the surfactant structure by self-assembling quaternary ammonium Gemini surfactants 12-n-12 (spacer length, n=4, 6, 8) with Sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) droplets to form the positively charged spherical vesicles. Furthermore, the chosen 12-6-12/SDS droplets at X12-6-12 = 0.6 could aggregate into large, soft, and deformable vesicles, which realized excellent spreading and deposition of the droplets on the superhydrophobic soybean leaf surface. This work not only improved the pesticide efficiency, but also promoted the development of environmentally friendly agricultural system.