Recently, Haibing Li group has made significant progress on surface self-assembly research. The results have been published in the top international authoritative academic journal “Angewandte Chemie Intertnational Edition” (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 2016-12713. IF =11.709). The master graduate student Li Luo is the first author for this work, and Central China Normal University is the only corresponding institution.

Surface self-assembly has played important role in efficient use of pesticides. Forexample, the attachment of herbicide droplets on leaves surfaces byself-assembly is beneficial for the adsorption of the herbicide by crops, as it can reduce the amount of herbicide residual. So far, the study of the self-assembly processes mainly focused on static structures, but dynamic systems are rarely explored. Thus, how to control the adhesive binding through dynamic self-assembly between the macroscopic droplet and the surface is a challenging task.

Paraquat is a widely usedherbicide.The key to improve the efficiency of the paraquat absorption and utilization is to control the self-assembly process on the weed leaves surface. Hence, Li group design and fabricate of a dynamic self-assembly system controlling the binding of the paraquat droplet on the silicon surface to mimic the process of herbicide absorption. By virtue of host–guest interaction, the pillar[5]arene-functionalized surface exhibited the dynamic self-assembly adhesion of specific methyl paraquat droplets with good selectivity and reversibility. The work as an example provides a new avenue for supermolecular study and provides an approach for improvingthe utilization efficiency of herbicide. 

The work was financially supportedby the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21572076, 21372092