Coatings for Agriculture: Food Security without a Microplastics Problem

Agricultural coatings are applied directly onto seeds and leaves to make pesticides and other active ingredients more effective, to increase crop yields, and to contribute to global food security. However, there are concerns that such coatings can form microplastics: microscopic polymeric particulates that can negatively affect marine food chains and that may transfer pathogens.
This project will develop biodegradable coatings for agriculture and investigate whether they can biodegrade without forming harmful microplastics. This interdisciplinary project will require the chemical synthesis of polymers, the casting and characterisation of coatings, and the synthesis of model microplastics. The polymer biodegradation will be analysed using a combination of analytic methods, including ellipsometry, dynamic light scattering, nanoparticle tracking analysis, optical/electron microscopy, and various NMR spectroscopic methods. Specifically, we aim to compare different types of established and novel polymers under identical conditions including simulated environments, and, working with a leading agricultural company, real soil samples. We expect that the project can provide clear guidelines on the future design of agricultural coatings that contribute to food security without posing a microplastics risk.