Abstract
A novel composite gel composed of carboxymethyl-chitosan (CM-chit) and bentonite (H-bent) was used as the carrier for encapsulating atrazine and imidacloprid to control their release in water and retard their leaching in soil. Strong interactions between CM-chit and H-bent in the composite were confirmed by FT-IR, and good dispersion of pesticides in the carrier was observed by SEM. According to the results of release experiments in water, the CM-chit/H-bent composite carrier showed double advantages of both encapsulation by the polymer and sorption by the bentonite. The time taken for 50 % of active ingredients to be released, t 50, was prolonged to 572 h for atrazine and 24 h for imidacloprid, respectively. The difference between the two pesticides on release behavior was related to their hydrophobicity and water solubility. Leaching experiments through a soil layer showed that this novel carrier reduced the amount of pesticides available for leaching, and would be useful for diminishing the environmental pollution of pesticides.
Acknowledgment
Funding was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21047005), Research Project for Public Welfare (2010C32086) & Natural Science Foundation (Y5080308) of Zhejiang Province, China.