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Enhancing droplet deposition through in-situ precipitation

Author

Listed:
  • Maher Damak

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Md Nasim Hyder

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Kripa K. Varanasi

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Retention of agricultural sprays on plant surfaces is an important challenge. Bouncing of sprayed pesticide droplets from leaves is a major source of soil and groundwater pollution and pesticide overuse. Here we report a method to increase droplet deposition through in-situ formation of hydrophilic surface defects that can arrest droplets during impact. Defects are created by simultaneously spraying oppositely charged polyelectrolytes that induce surface precipitation when two droplets come into contact. Using high-speed imaging, we study the coupled dynamics of drop impact and surface precipitate formation. We develop a physical model to estimate the energy dissipation by the defects and predict the transition from bouncing to sticking. We demonstrate macroscopic enhancements in spray retention and surface coverage for natural and synthetic non-wetting surfaces and provide insights into designing effective agricultural sprays.

Suggested Citation

  • Maher Damak & Md Nasim Hyder & Kripa K. Varanasi, 2016. "Enhancing droplet deposition through in-situ precipitation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-9, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms12560
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12560
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    Cited by:

    1. Jing Lou & Songlin Shi & Chen Ma & Xiaohuan Zhou & Dong Huang & Quanshui Zheng & Cunjing Lv, 2022. "Polygonal non-wetting droplets on microtextured surfaces," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Ying Zhou & Chenguang Zhang & Wenchang Zhao & Shiyu Wang & Pingan Zhu, 2023. "Suppression of hollow droplet rebound on super-repellent surfaces," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Zhipeng Zhao & Huizeng Li & An Li & Wei Fang & Zheren Cai & Mingzhu Li & Xiqiao Feng & Yanlin Song, 2021. "Breaking the symmetry to suppress the Plateau–Rayleigh instability and optimize hydropower utilization," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-7, December.
    4. Jun Li & Mingxin He & Huajun Cui & Peiyi Lin & Yingyi Chen & Guangxin Ling & Guangwen Huang & Han Fu, 2022. "Characterizing Droplet Retention in Fruit Tree Canopies for Air-Assisted Spraying," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, July.

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