A Biomimetic Strip for Standardized Evaluation of Herbicide Deposition Dynamics

Abstract

Superhydrophobic material design has predominantly relied on direct structural replication of singular natural archetypes, such as the Lotus leaf. While this biomimetic strategy has driven significant progress, it fundamentally fails to translate the dynamic droplet super-repellency into universally applicable predictive models. Here, we report a biomimetic laboratory toolkit designed to overcome the variability of natural leaves and establish a standardized paradigm for herbicide formulation screening. By integrating the high-ridge architecture of C3 grasses with the dense-groove networks of C4 grasses, we engineered a structural test strip that serves as a conservative worst-case benchmark. This engineered platform, combined with Kinetic Contact Tension (KCT) analysis, enables the precise prediction of droplet deposition kinetics, facilitating high-throughput adjuvant screening prior to field trials.