Solvent Effects on Chemiluminescence from the Hydrogen Peroxide-Lucigenin Reaction: Kinetics of Light Emission in Mixed Polar Solvents

Article abstract of DOI:10.1007/BF00823419

The effect of the reaction media composition on reaction kinetics was studied for the reaction of lucigenin (10,10'-dimethyl-9,9'-biacridinium nitrate) with hydrogen peroxide and alkali.Chemiluminescent emission as well as lucigenin disappearance were recorded in mixtures of water with the co-solvents methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, dimethylsulfoxide, and dimethylformamide.The kinetic results (base and peroxide concentration influence on the reaction rate and the relative chemiluminescence yield) are very similar in all the reaction media, suggesting that the fundamental step in the disappearance of lucigenin and in light emission decay is HO2^- addition to lucigenin.Lucigenin can also disappear through dark reactions with OH^- or H2O2.The co-solvent acts as a catalyst for the reaction with HO2^- and increases both the initial chemiluminescence intensity and the decay rate constant. Keywords.Chemiluminescence; Lucigenin; Solvent effects.