Density 1.7 g/cm³ Appearance White crystalline powder ChemSpider ID 141097 | Boiling point 500.9 °C Pubchem 160567 Chemical formula C14H4Cl6O4 | |
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Melting point 188 to 192 °C (370 to 378 °F; 461 to 465 K) | ||
How to make tcpo for making glow sticks
TCPO, or bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate, is a chemical used in some types of glow sticks.
Contents
- How to make tcpo for making glow sticks
- Glowstick reaction playing with the chemiluminescence of tcpo
- Uses
- Preparation
- References
Glowstick reaction playing with the chemiluminescence of tcpo
Uses
When combined with a fluorescent dye like 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene, a solvent (such as diethyl phthalate), and a weak base (usually sodium acetate or sodium salicylate), and hydrogen peroxide, the mixture will start a chemiluminescent reaction to glow a fluorescent green color.
Red, yellow and blue colors can be made by replacing the 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene with rhodamine B, rubrene and 9,10-diphenylanthracene respectively.
The above Fluorescent dyes absorb much of the energy produced during the decomposition of the oxalate ester, and convert that energy into light energy which is observed as the characteristic glow in products such as glowsticks.
Preparation
TCPO can be prepared from a solution of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol in a solution of dry toluene by reaction with oxalyl chloride in the presence of a base such as triethylamine. This method produces crude TCPO with a by-product of triethylamine hydrochloride. The triethylamine hydrochloride can be dissolved in water, methanol or ethanol, so the product is more purified. After washing it can be recrystallized from ethyl acetate.
