Potassium Ferrate(VI) as a Highly Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Chemiluminescence Reagent in Acidic Solution

Herein we report that the reactions of potassium ferrate (VI) with a number of reductants can produce strong chemiluminescence (CL) in acidic aqueous solution. The CL Spectra were registered and compared with the classical KMnO₄ and NaClO-H₂O₂ CL systems. The characteristic emission peaks at 1268 and 1050 nm were observed, which are consistent to the spectrum obtained from the NaClO-H₂O₂ system. Additional emission bands at 680 nm further confirmed the formation of singlet oxygen dimers. The high CL intensity and the chemically green nature of K₂FeO₄, prompt us to further develop it as a novel CL reagent. Sensitive response and wide calibration ranges were obtained for dopamine, ascorbic acid, and ethanol. The linear range for the determination of three analytes were 50 nM to 50 μM for dopamine (LOD: 20 nM), 5.0 μM to 1.0 mM for ascorbic acid (LOD: 2.21 μM), and 0.5 μM to 1.0 mM for ethanol (LOD: 0.30 μM). Thus, K₂FeO₄ has a great potential for the postcolumn detection of those UV featureless compounds.