Evaluation of the efficacy of insecticidal coatings based on teflutrin and chlorpyrifos against Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.

BACKGROUND: The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.), an important economic resource for many nations worldwide, has recently been threatened by the presence of different insect pests, like the red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. RESULTS: Two products, a glue (polyvinyl acetate) and an oil (raw linseed oil) were used as coatings and applied together with a repellent and two insecticides (teflutrin and chlorpyrifos) at different dosages on two species of palm (P. dactylifera and P. canariensis). Phytotoxic effects of the treatments were evaluated in a greenhouse on 260 potted palms (130 P. dactylifera and 130 P. canariensis) and no negative effects were observed. Afterwards, a trial lasting 400 days was carried out in a nursery located in Sicily (south Italy), treating 572 potted palm trees (286 P. dactylifera and 286 P. canariensis) with an average diameter at the base of 18-20 cm. After 400 days, 48% of the untreated palms were infested, while only 3% of date palms and 7% of Canary palms treated with insecticide at lower dosages were infested. CONCLUSIONS: The application of an insecticide-based coating is a good strategy to control and prevent the red palm weevil infestation, in particular on date palms. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Promising fluorescent dye for solar energy conversion based on a perylene perinone.

We describe the synthesis of a dye based on a perylene perinone and evaluate its potential as the functional material for use in the luminescent solar concentrator (LSC). The dye extends the absorption wavelength of LSCs using the perylene-based dye Lumogen Red 305 by more than ~50 nm, translating into the collection of potentially 25% more photons at a reasonable fluorescent quantum yield and photostability. When the new perinone is used in a two-waveguide LSC in conjunction with Red 305, the integrated edge emission of the total LSC system may be increased more than 24% when compared to the Red 305 dye alone.

Photophysics of Soret-excited tetrapyrroles in solution. I. Metalloporphyrins: MgTPP, ZnTPP, and CdTPP.

The photophysical behavior of three Soret-excited diamagnetic meso-substituted tetraphenylmetalloporphyrins, MgTPP, ZnTPP, and CdTPP, have been examined in a wide variety of solvents using both steady-state and femtosecond fluorescence upconversion methods. The S 2 population of MgTPP decays to S 1 on the time scale of a few picoseconds with unit S 2-S 1 internal conversion efficiency, and the decay rates conform to the weak coupling case of radiationless transition theory. The energy gap law parameters characterizing the coupling of the S 2 and S 1 states of MgTPP have been obtained. The most important accepting vibrational modes in the S 1 state are multiple in-plane C-C and C-N stretches in the 1200-1500 cm (-1) range. Net S 2-S 1 decay is the dominant decay path for ZnTPP and CdTPP as well, but the process occurs at rates that exceed (in the case of CdTPP, they vastly exceed) those predicted by weak interstate coupling. Alternate mechanisms for the radiationless decay of the S 2 states of ZnTPP and CdTPP have been explored. Large spin-orbit coupling constants and the presence of multiple, near-equiergic triplet states suggest that S 2-T n intersystem crossing might occur at rates competitive with internal conversion. However, the measured efficiencies of S 2-S 1 internal conversion show that, at most, only a few percent of the S 2 population of ZnTPP and no more than about 30% of the S 2 population of CdTPP can decay by a "dark" path such as intersystem crossing.

Photophysics of a dithioester RAFT polymerization agent and the acenaphthenyl model light-harvesting chromophore.

The spectroscopic and photophysical properties of a typical dithiobenzoate reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization agent alone in solution, as a quencher of electronically excited acenaphthene in solution, and in an acenaphthene donor-dithiobenzoate acceptor dichromophore have been investigated. The RAFT agent is an effective quencher of photo-excited acenaphthene. Energy wastage in the dichromophore occurs by Förster resonant electronic energy transfer from the S1 state of acenaphthene to the S2 state of the dithioester, which subsequently fragments.

Photophysics and spectroscopy of the higher electronic states of zinc metalloporphyrins: a theoretical and experimental study.

The photophysics of the S2 and S1 excited states of zinc porphyrin (ZnP) and five of its derivatives (ZnOEP, ZnTBP, ZnTPP, ZnTFPP, ZnTCl8PP) have been investigated by measuring their steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra, quantum yields and excited state lifetimes at room temperature in several solvents. The radiative and radiationless decay constants of the fluorescent excited states accessible in the visible and near UV regions of the spectrum have been obtained. Despite the similarities in the Soret spectra of these compounds, their S2 excited state radiationless decay rates differ markedly. Although the S2-S1 electronic energies of a given zinc porphyrin vary linearly with the Lippert (refractive index) function of the solvent, the S2 radiationless decay rates of the set of compounds do not follow the energy gap law of radiationless transition theory. Calculations, using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), of the energies and symmetries of the complete set of excited states accessible by 1- or 2-photon absorption in the near UV-visible have also been carried out. Substitution on the porphyrin macrocycle framework affects the ground state geometry and alters the electron density distributions, the orbital energies and the relative order of the excited electronic states accessible in the near UV-blue regions of the spectrum. The results are used to help interpret both the nature of the electronic transitions in the Soret region, and the relative magnitudes of the radiationless transition rates of the excited states involved.

Ultrafast dynamics of the azobenzene-coumarin complex: investigation of cooling dynamics measured by an integrated molecular thermometer.

The energy dissipation mechanism from photoexcited azobenzene (Az) was studied by femtosecond time-resolved UV absorption spectroscopy using 7-amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (ATC) as a probe. The distance between the probe molecule and Az was fixed by covalently linking them together through a rigid proline spacer. Picosecond dynamics in THF solutions were studied upon excitation into the S1 state by a 100 fs laser pulse at 480 nm. Transient absorption spectra obtained for Az-Pro-ATC combined the S1 state absorption and vibrationally excited ground-state absorption of ATC. Correction of the transient spectrum of Az-Pro-ATC for the S1 absorption provided the time-resolved absorption spectrum of the ATC hot band. Three major components were observed in the transient kinetics of Az-Pro-ATC vibrational cooling. It is proposed that in ca. 0.25 ps after the excitation, the S1 state of azobenzene decays to form an initial vibrationally excited nonthermalized ground state of Az-Pro-ATC that involves vibrational modes of both azobenzene and coumarin. This hot ground state decays in ca. 0.32 ps to the next, vibrationally equilibrated, transient state by redistributing the energy within the molecule. Subsequently, the latter state cools by transferring its energy to the closest solvent molecules in ca. 5 ps; then, the energy diffuses to the bulk solvent in 13 ps.