A chemiluminescence method for determining ozone

Abstract

A method for determining ozone is described which is characterised by the direct recording and automatic determination of ozone within a wide range of concentrations. The development of this method is based on the use of a chemiluminescent solution that is stable, and shows a linear relationship between the light emitted and the ozone concentration. A combination of rhodamine B with gallic acid in ethanol is satisfactory in operation and does not itself emit light. The electronic instrumentation used is relatively simple. Other methods of ozone analysis based on this principle meet with much difficulty, owing to the direct oxidation of the chemiluminescent compound. The present method, by contrast, involves the use of gallic acid as an ozone acceptor, and rhodamine B, which remains unchanged during the measurement, as a photon emitter. Observations made with an oscillograph of the light emitted by single bubbles of ozonised air passing through the chemiluminescent solution give valuable information about the responsetime of the system.