Improved Formulations Through Synergistic Combinations Based On Alkyl Glucosides

Pesticide Formulations and Delivery Systems

Pesticide Formulations and Delivery Systems

Improved Formulations Through Synergistic Combinations Based on Alkyl Glucosides

Sugar surfactants have attracted a lot of interest in the last decades, both due to technical properties as well as to the extremely favorable ecological and toxicological properties. It is well known that alcohol glucosides have excellent aqueous solubility, a low temperature dependence compared to nonionic ethoxylates, and are stable in the presence of high levels of electrolytes. Furthermore, they are compatible with anionic, cationic, and other nonionic surfactants, making them extremely suitable for formulating concentrated products in the agrochemical area. In this paper, the synergistic effect of short-chained alkyl glucosides mixed with alcohol ethoxylates or amine derivatives have been investigated. These synergies have been manifested by lowering both surface tension and cmc as well as increasing wetting properties towards hydrophobic surfaces. The model system used contained agrochemical electrolytes such as glyphosate, MCPA-DMA salt and fertilizers. The relevance of the finding is supported by the increased bio-efficacy of a mixed adjuvant seen in a greenhouse test. Furthermore, this study shows that short-chained glucosides can be used as efficient solubilizers for adjuvants or wetting agents in high electrolyte system (i.e., fertilizers, active ingredients) to avoid phase separation. The effect has been assessed by studying the influence on cloud point as well as the amount of glucoside needed to solubilizer a nonionic wetting agent into a high electrolyte solution.