Sustainable fertiliser mesh, ‘4D’-precision engineered by flow chemistry: minimising agrochemical pollution

Flow chemistry enables the opening of “novel process windows” (NPWs), including new chemical transformations, and is particularly impactful for mixing-sensitive syntheses. In this study, flow chemistry was leveraged to produce a novel core–shell necklaced fertiliser designed for localised application with minimal nutrient leaching. Fertiliser capsules, consisting of a chitosan-coated chitosan/citric acid matrix with embedded phosphorus (apatite) particles, were synthesised using combined sheath and segmented flow in a water/oil system. These capsules were connected via chitosan strings to form necklace-like structures (3D hierarchy), which were then woven into mesh-like networks (4D hierarchy), allowing spatial and temporal control of nutrient release. The fertiliser contained 24.5 wt% phosphate and 7 wt% potassium, exhibited extended lifetimes (62 days in mildly acidic media, 2422 days in deionised water), and demonstrated low leaching loss (1.2%)—60 times lower than commercial fertiliser. These findings highlight the potential of flow-synthesised fertilisers for precision agriculture and environmental sustainability.

• Le, T
• Lim, C
• Fisk, I
• Tran, N
• Hessel, V
• Robertson, K

• School of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

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