The glow stick reaction

By Declan Fleming2019-04-16T11:05:00

An image showing beakers containing the chemoluminescent compound luminol in beakers

Source: © Declan Fleming

Light up the classroom with this simple, safe and value-for-money demonstration of chemiluminescence

This video and article explains how to make and use the chemiluminescent compound TCPO, which is commonly found in glow sticks. When used in combination with different dyes, TCPO can be used to produce a range of different colours. The process is simple, safe and only uses chemicals that should be easily obtainable for school science stores.

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