Study on the electrochemiluminescence based on tris(2,2 '-bipyridine)ruthenium and methanol

Abstract

The luminescent electrooxidation of methanol in tris(2,2'-bipyndine) ruthenium (II)[Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)] alkaline solution on a glassy carbon electrode has been studied. At the potential of +1.28V (vs. Ag/AgCl), methanol was oxidized to methoxyl radical, and the excited formaldehyde was generated by a disprotionation reaction of the methoxyl radical to yield light emission with the wavelength of 545 nm. Brighter light emission could be found if small amount of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) was added. The luminescent wavelength was 608 nm because Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) was oxidized to Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) and reacted with methoxyl radical to produce the excited state of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+*).