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ABSTRACT
Copper-based nanopesticides hold significant promise for agricultural applications. However, a critical challenge that persists is the need for effective control over the release of Cu2+. To this end, this study systematically investigated the Cu2+ release characteristics of Cu-based NPs with varying morphologies, species, and coating agents. It is found that CuO NPs exhibited extremely low Cu2+ concentration, rendering them ineffective for plant disease control. Cu(OH)2 nanowires cannot continuously release Cu2+ due to its larger size and enhanced stability. Conversely, Cu(OH)2 NPs exhibited sustained Cu2+ release, albeit at a slower rate. Modification with surfactants could significantly affect the Cu2+ release behavior, particularly the coating of carboxymethyl starch, which notably promoted Cu2+ release from Cu(OH)2 NPs, achieving sustained release for 27 days. Furthermore, carboxymethyl starch-coated Cu(OH)2 particles could consistently release Cu2+ in the pH range of 5–7. This finding may offer the inspiration of long-lasting control of plant diseases.
Acknowledgements
This work was kindly supported by the Yunnan (China) Province Enterprise Basic Research Application Basic Research Joint Project (202101BC070001-026, 202101BC070001-011), National Natural Science Foundation of China (22206181 and 22106028), and Scientific Research Funding of National Institute of Metrology of China (AKYCX2202).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).