The phototransformation of active ingredients on plant surfaces after spraying has a significant impact on the treatment efficiency. In this work, the photochemical reactions taking place on leaf models and environmental conditions close to real ones have been overviewed for two pesticides: chlorothalonil and cycloxydim. We considered the photochemical reactions induced by light absorption by the compounds themselves and the reactions involving natural sensitizers such as plants secondary metabolites. Detailed mechanistic studies were conducted. We show that chlorothalonil has a noteworthy capacity to produce singlet oxygen with a quantum yield close to unity. Besides, the reactivity of cycloxydim towards singlet oxygen was demonstrated. Hence, the phototransformation of cycloxydim deposited on wax films is accelerated when natural sensitizers, such as phytoalexins, are included in the wax, or when chlorothalonil traces are present on the leaf model. This work allowed 1) to understand the mechanism of phototransformation by direct excitation and sensitization of chlorothalonil and cycloxydim, 2) to measure many physicochemical data (reaction rate constants, quantum yields, lifetime, spectral characteristics oft ransients and 3) to put in work an experimental protocol for the photochemical study of organic compounds in solid state and included in wax films.
