Chemiluminescence
Group members:
Nicholas Lucas
Meagan Williams
Kelli Smith
TJ Jones
Chemistry Lab 151-003
Professor Stewart
19 March 2013
Introduction:
The objective of this experiment is to carry out a systematic series of experiments in order to determine which chemicals and what ratio of the chemicals produce the brightest light and which produce the longest lasting light through the process of chemiluminescence. Chemiluminescence is the production of light due to a chemical reaction. Such a reaction involves two chemicals reacting with one another to form a high-energy intermediate, breaking down releasing energy as photons of light. Luminol,the main ingredient in chemiluminescence. When mixed with the appropriate oxidizing agent luminol creates a blue glow. The chemical formula for luminol is C8H7N3O2. Scientists are interested in chemiluminescence because it allows them to know how fireflies and other species produce a glowing light naturally. Also one could identify blood at a crime scene with chemiluminescence. It is observed in spontaneous reactions like during an electric discharge, electrolysis, or upon exposure to light or ionizing radiation. My group mixed a variety of chemicals with luminol to produce light. The controlled variable was the luminol. My group used the same amount throughout all of the experiment. The chemicals that were mixed with luminol were the independent variables and the amount of time the reaction glowed was the dependent variable. We changed the independent variables by changing the amounts added and the order in which they were added to test what chemicals and what order they needed to be added to the reaction to produce a glow.
Results: Trial Number | Luminol | Bleach | DMSO | 1M NaOH | 1M HCL | H2O2 | Results | A1 | Tad 1 | 1D 2 | 1D 6 S | 1D 5 | 1D 4 | 1D 3 | Turned brown | A2 | Tad 1 | 7D