A novel luminol chemiluminescence induced by photoexcited ketones: A selective determination method for acetone in wastewater

Abstract It has been recently confirmed that photoexcited ketones such as acetone promote the chemiluminescence (CL) reaction of luminol and its analog, L-012. Using this finding, a selective determination method for acetone was developed herein based on HPLC separation, online UV irradiation, and subsequent luminol CL detection. Various conditions, including the type of luminol reagent, the use of organic solvents as eluent modifiers, and the reaction pH, were investigated to elucidate the CL reaction mechanism. The results showed that the CL reaction of luminol is caused by an acetone ketyl radical produced from the photoexcited acetone. The performance of the novel acetone determination method was evaluated by its application in water quality assurance in water treatment plants. The method detection limit and the method quantification limit of acetone were 0.03 and 0.08 µM, respectively. A linear range was obtained in the concentration range of 0.1–200 µM. The range of recovery in the wastewater and seawater samples (n = 5) fortified with 5.0 µM acetone was 87–108%. These results demonstrate that the new luminol CL system is useful for its sensitivity and selectivity.