Surfactant-induced enhancement of droplet adhesion in superhydrophobic soybean (Glycine max L.) leaves

• Oliver Hagedorn,
• Ingo Fleute-Schlachter,
• Hans Georg Mainx,
• Viktoria Zeisler-Diehl and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2345–2356, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.234

• Ecophysiology, IZMB, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115 Bonn, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.8.234 Abstract This study performed with soybean (Glycine max L.), one of the most important crops for human and animal nutrition, demonstrates that changes in the leaf surface structure can increase the adhesion of

• applied droplets, even on superhydrophobic leaves, to reduce undesirable soil contamination by roll-off of agrochemical formulations from the plant surfaces. The wettability and morphology of soybean (Glycine max L.) leaf surfaces before and after treatment with six different surfactants (Agnique® SBO10

• reduction of the epicuticular wax structures and a change from Cassie–Baxter wetting to an intermediate wetting regime with an increase of droplet adhesion. Keywords: droplet adhesion; epicuticular wax; Glycine max L; superhydrophobic; surfactants; Introduction The cuticle, as the outermost layer of