Chemiluminescence from luminol solution after illumination of a 355 nm pulse laser

Chemiluminescence (CL) on the time scale of microseconds to milliseconds from luminol solution after illumination of a 355 nm pulse laser is reported. It was found that the CL is the emission from 3‐aminophthalate ion (AP*). In CL decay after the pulse laser illumination, a peak was observed from about 200 to 30 µs depending on the laser power and the luminol concentration. It seemed that there was a fast and slow decay process; their kinetics were greatly dependent on the laser power and the luminol concentration. Dissolved oxygen was involved in the CL and played the same role on the whole time scale of microseconds to milliseconds. Involvement of reactive oxygen species such as H₂O₂, ¹O₂, O₂^?? and OH in the CL was examined by adding their scavengers. Experimental results suggested that the possibility of involvement of H₂O₂ and ¹O₂ in the CL was low. The CL in time periods less than 50 µs might be related to ?OH. The ^?O₂^??‐induced CL increased with time after 50 µs and became dominant on the time scale of milliseconds. The CL was considered to be caused by both the photoionization and type I reaction mechanisms. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.