A novel tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II)/tripropylamine cathodic electrochemiluminescence in acetonitrile for the indirect determination of hydrogen peroxide

A novel tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)32+) cathodic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was generated at −0.78 V at the Pt electrode in acetonitrile (ACN), which suggested that the cathodic ECL differed from conventional cathodic ECL. It was found that tripropylamine (TPrA) could enhance this cathodic ECL and the linear range (log–log plot) was 0.2 μM–0.2 mM. In addition, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) could inhibit the cathodic ECL and was indirectly detected with the linear range of 27–540 μM. The RSD (n = 12) of the ECL intensity in the presence of 135 μM H2O2 was 0.87%. This method was also demonstrated for the fast determination of H2O2 in disinfectant sample and satisfactory results were obtained.