Terbium(III) ions as sensitizers of oxidation of indole and its derivatives in Fenton system

Oxidation of indole and its derivatives in the Fenton system as a source of oxidising agents, in the presence of terbium(III) ions was studied by chemiluminescence methods to get the kinetic curves of emission decay and spectral distributions of chemiluminescence. Terbium(III) ions acted as a sensitizer of the mixtures Tb(III)-Fe(II)/Fe(III)-H₂O₂-indole or its derivative (tryptophan, tryptamine, indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-acetyl aspartic acid). For the above indolic compounds, linear dependencies of integrated intensity of chemiluminescence on concentration of indolic compound in water and in water-acetonitrile solution were obtained. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) of the indolic compounds studied were found to be by one or two orders of magnitude lower in the system with terbium(III) ions than without them. - Highlights: • Chemiluminescence emitted on oxidation of indolic compounds in Fenton system. • Tb (III) ions as sensitizers of indolic compounds oxidation in solutions. • Linear relations between CL intensity and indolic compound concentration.