Selective determination of acenaphthylene by flow injection analysis with tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection

A simple, rapid flow injection chemiluminescence (FI-CL) method has been developed for selective determination of acenaphthylene (ACY), based on the CL produced in the reaction of tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) (Ru(bipy)33+) and ACY in an acidic buffer solution. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the calibration curve was linear over the range 5.0 × 10−3 to 4.0 × 10−7 mol L−1 for ACY. The detection limit (S/N = 3) was 2.0 × 10−7 mol L−1 and the relative standard deviation of 10 replicate measurements was 2.3% for 5.0 × 10−5 mol L−1 of ACY. Selectivity of CL reaction of ACY from other 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated by flow injection method. The method was applied to determine the ACY content in soil.