The singlet oxygen (O) production quantum yield (Φ) of 14 halogenated BODIPY dyes has been determined (0.01 < Φ < 0.99). O production and photostability have been evaluated considering the BODIPY structure, the substitution pattern, and the number and type of heavy atoms and quenching rate constants of O by the sensitizer. In view of the experimental results and principal component analysis (PCA), guidelines for an improved design of efficient and photostable halo-BODIPY sensitizers are proposed.

Photosensitized oxidation of trimethyl[2.2.1]bicycloheptane thioketones by (1)O2 can yield more photoproducts than exclusively ketones and sulfines. Moreover, the ketone/sulfine ratio can be reversed when protic conditions and high thioketone concentrations are used, conversely to earlier results reporting ketones as the main photoproducts. A new mechanistic proposal for sulfine formation is suggested following intermolecular oxygen transfer from a peroxythiocarbonyl intermediate to a second thioketone molecule. Reaction quantum yields (10(-5)-10(-2)) depend on the reaction conditions and time. Sulfine production reaches a maximum at short irradiation times, whereas decomposition to the corresponding ketone is observed at long reaction times. When the thioketone substrate has a hydrogen atom at the α position a peroxyvinylsulfenic acid intermediate can be formed by proton transfer. Reaction of this intermediate with another thioketone molecule can yield more sulfine and its tautomeric vinylsulfenic acid, which dimerizes in situ to the thiosulfinate. The hydroperoxyl group of the peroxyvinylsulfenic acid can also rearrange to the α position, and by reaction with the starting thioketone, α-hydroxy thioketone and additional sulfine can be formed, while dehydration yields the α-oxo thioketone. In situ [2 + 2] and [4 + 2] self-cycloaddition of the α-oxo thioketone yields significant amounts of the corresponding adducts at prolonged irradiation times.

The generation of secondary colors in digital devices by means of the additive red, green, and blue color model (RGB) can be a valuable way to introduce students to the basics of spectroscopy. This work has been focused on the spectral separation of secondary colors of light emitted by a computer screen into red, green, and blue bands, and how the intensity of these bands can be modulated if the portions of each primary color are modified in the RGB coordinates. The option found in the PowerPoint program for defining RGB values in the background of slides has been used in order to tune the color of the analyzed light. On the other hand, a CD-ROM based spectroscope has been found to provide enough resolution for this kind of analysis and an accessible way to perform it. These studies can be carried out qualitatively, comparing the different spectra observed through the spectroscope, as well as quantitatively, if these spectra are photographed using a digital camera and they are plotted after the analysis of the images using ImageJ, an open source program.

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