Aqueous solubilities,photolysis rates and partition coefficients of benzoylphenylurea insecticides

The aqueous solubilities and octanol–water partition coefficients (K_OW) of the benzoylphenylurea (BPU) insecticides teflubenzuron, chlorfluazuron, flufenoxuron and hexaflumuron were determined in comparison with the more extensively studied diflubenzuron. Both teflubenzuron and hexaflumuron were substantially less water‐soluble (9.4 (± 0.3) µg litre⁻¹ and 16.2 (± 0.5) µg litre⁻¹ in water, respectively) than the value previously reported for diflubenzuron (89 (± 4) µg litre⁻¹ in water). Log K_OW values for diflubenzuron, teflubenzuron, hexaflumuron, flufenoxuron and chlorfluazuron were 3.8, 5.4, 5.4, 6.2 and 6.6, respectively, as determined using reverse‐phase HPLC. Photodegradation of hexaflumuron, teflubenzuron and diflubenzuron in water indicated hexaflumuron to be the most rapidly degraded of the three compounds at pH 7.0 (t_1/2 = 8.6 (± 0.4) h) and pH 9.0 (t_1/2 = 5 (± 1) h); diflubenzuron was the slowest of the three pesticides to degrade in pH 7.0 (17 (± 4) h) and pH 9.0 (8 (± 2) h) buffered water. In a solar simulator using river water buffered to pH 9.0, teflubenzuron, hexaflumuron and diflubenzuron half‐lives were 20 (± 4), 15 (± 2) and 12 (± 1) h, respectively; dark controls showed no loss of parent BPU over similar time periods. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry