Modification of Urea-Formaldehyde Microcapsules With Lignosulfonate-Ca as Co-Polymer for Encapsulation of Acetochlor

Abstract

Modification of the poly-urea-formaldehyde (UF) shell always interests formulators for obtaining special properties and applications of the microcapsules. Here, we were able to modify the UF shell with the biodegradable lignosulfonate-Ca as copolymer for encapsulation of acetochlor. The modified microcapsules were characterized by ultraviolet spectrophotometer (UV), laser particle size analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Results showed 15% lignosulfonate-Ca substitution of urea benefits for higher encapsulation efficiency and finer particle size. Compared with the pure UF microcapsules, the modified shell surface became rougher with increasing lignosulfonate-Ca substitution of urea under 45%. We expect this modification approach will be applied by other fields besides pesticide manufacturing.

Keywords:

• lignosulfonate
• modification
• urea-formaldehyde microcapsule
• pesticide