Steric Enhancement of the Chemiluminescence of Luminols

Abstract

A surprising 20-fold increase in chemiluminescence efficiency was observed for dialkyl luminol derivatives in comparison with the parent compound. This effect could be a direct consequence of steric gearing which facilitates the transition from the intermediate endoperoxide to the electronically excited phthalate. Mechanistic aspects of this process have been supported by computational calculations (CASPT2//CASSCF).