Abstract
The chemiluminescence of several naphthalene-based luminol analogues is characterized and compared with that of luminol. The compounds produce a strong greenish or green-yellow chemiluminescence in alkaline aqueous and nonaqueous solutions by reaction with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of hexacyanoferrate (III). The results point to the possibility of increasing the sensitivity of analytical methods currently based on luminol. The photophysics of the oxidation products is also studied. The solubility of some of the new compounds in aqueous solution is significantly increased using a nonionic surfactant Triton X-100. Increase of the chemiluminescence intensity in aqueous micellar media was observed. The location of the oxidation product 3-aminophthalate in the external hydrophilic shell of the micelle was established using its intrinsic fluorescence by iodide. The described luminol analogues may prove of interest in forensic and other applications.