A novel chemiluminescence from the reaction of singlet oxygen with β-diketonates of europium( iii ), neodymium( iii ) and ytterbium( iii )

Decomposition of 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene endoperoxide, which is the source of singlet oxygen, in the presence of β-diketonates of europium( iii ), neodymium( iii ) and ytterbium( iii ) is accompanied by bright chemiluminescence (CL) in visible and near infra-red spectral region due to characteristic emission from the lanthanides at λ , max = 615 and 710 nm ( 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 and 5 D 0 → 7 F 4 transitions of Eu 3+ ), 900 nm ( 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 9/2 transition of Nd 3+ ) and 1000 nm ( 2 F 5/2 → 2 F 7/2 transition of Yb 3+ ). Singlet oxygen is the key intermediate responsible for the observed CL, which is presumably generated by the reaction of 1 O 2 with ligands of the complexes. The CL phenomenon discovered herein paves the way towards the development of lanthanide-based CL probe for 1 O 2 .