How to Make a Glowstick
Wear clothing to protect your eyes and skin., Start with 10mL of the solvent Diethyl Phthalate (DP)., Add 3 mg of your chosen fluorescent dye to add color., Add 50 mg of TCPO to the dyed mixture., Add 100 mg of sodium acetate to the mixture...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Wear clothing to protect your eyes and skin.
Some of the chemicals are carcinogenic and incredibly dangerous when used improperly.
It should also be noted that these are expensive and often difficult to obtain chemicals, best bought in bulk.
They are not conducive to only making one or two glow sticks.
At the very least, you should have:
Latex gloves Ventilated goggles (lab goggles) Long sleeves Face mask A clean, tidy work station Clean glass tubes or containers with matching lids. -
Step 2: Start with 10mL of the solvent Diethyl Phthalate (DP).
This is your base and makes up the majority of the liquid in your glow sticks.
It will hold the chemicals that actually glow and amplify them.
Start with 10mL of DP, but know that you can double or half this for bigger or smaller sticks.
This looks like water, but the chemical reaction necessary for glowing won't work in water You may have to dig around a bit online to find these chemicals.
Chemistry giants Alfa Aesarand Sigma Aldrichare two great resources.
If you double the solvent, then you should double the rest of the ingredients below. , You cannot use normal or additive dyes; make sure you're using fluorescent dyes.
These dyes will not be the same color un-mixed as they are when they glow, so trust the guide given below to make your colors.
There are a variety of different dyes you can use, depending on the color you want: 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene for green Rubrene for yellow 9,10-diphenylanthracene for blue Rhodamine B for red (note: rhodamine decays quickly, meaning reds tend to fade fast).
Mix half yellow, half blue to create white. , TCPO stands for bis (2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate, which you may need to know to purchase it.
It's quite expensive to buy, but you can make it fairly cheaply if, again, you're experienced and competent around chemicals.
Otherwise, making it is not advised.The TCPO is used instead of luminol in this method
-- it's the component that makes the mixture glow and it lasts for hours.
TCPO is incredibly carcinogenic, and should be handled with care.
Never inhale TCPO. , If you don't have sodium acetate, an even mixture of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium salicylic can effectively be used instead.
When added, put the lid on and shake the bottle well. , It's important to do this step last, as it creates the chemical reaction.
Put the lid back on, shake it up well, and turn off the lights.
You should have a quite impressive stick/tube/container glowing ferociously in front of you.
The hydrogen peroxide is an activator, not part of the reaction, so you won't need much.
When you buy glow sticks, the "crack" noise to activate them is breaking a little glass vial of hydrogen peroxide. , If you so desire, mess around with the recipe to see what warrants the best results.
This reaction works because TCPO and Sodium Acetate release energy when combined, as they start to decay.
This energy is picked up by the florescent dyes, which can convert energy into light.
More of each leads to more energy and a longer reaction. -
Step 3: Add 3 mg of your chosen fluorescent dye to add color.
-
Step 4: Add 50 mg of TCPO to the dyed mixture.
-
Step 5: Add 100 mg of sodium acetate to the mixture.
-
Step 6: Finally
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Step 7: add 3 mL of 30% hydrogen peroxide to the mixture.
-
Step 8: Add larger quantities of TCPO and Sodium Acetate to make the reaction go on for longer.
Detailed Guide
Some of the chemicals are carcinogenic and incredibly dangerous when used improperly.
It should also be noted that these are expensive and often difficult to obtain chemicals, best bought in bulk.
They are not conducive to only making one or two glow sticks.
At the very least, you should have:
Latex gloves Ventilated goggles (lab goggles) Long sleeves Face mask A clean, tidy work station Clean glass tubes or containers with matching lids.
This is your base and makes up the majority of the liquid in your glow sticks.
It will hold the chemicals that actually glow and amplify them.
Start with 10mL of DP, but know that you can double or half this for bigger or smaller sticks.
This looks like water, but the chemical reaction necessary for glowing won't work in water You may have to dig around a bit online to find these chemicals.
Chemistry giants Alfa Aesarand Sigma Aldrichare two great resources.
If you double the solvent, then you should double the rest of the ingredients below. , You cannot use normal or additive dyes; make sure you're using fluorescent dyes.
These dyes will not be the same color un-mixed as they are when they glow, so trust the guide given below to make your colors.
There are a variety of different dyes you can use, depending on the color you want: 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene for green Rubrene for yellow 9,10-diphenylanthracene for blue Rhodamine B for red (note: rhodamine decays quickly, meaning reds tend to fade fast).
Mix half yellow, half blue to create white. , TCPO stands for bis (2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate, which you may need to know to purchase it.
It's quite expensive to buy, but you can make it fairly cheaply if, again, you're experienced and competent around chemicals.
Otherwise, making it is not advised.The TCPO is used instead of luminol in this method
-- it's the component that makes the mixture glow and it lasts for hours.
TCPO is incredibly carcinogenic, and should be handled with care.
Never inhale TCPO. , If you don't have sodium acetate, an even mixture of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium salicylic can effectively be used instead.
When added, put the lid on and shake the bottle well. , It's important to do this step last, as it creates the chemical reaction.
Put the lid back on, shake it up well, and turn off the lights.
You should have a quite impressive stick/tube/container glowing ferociously in front of you.
The hydrogen peroxide is an activator, not part of the reaction, so you won't need much.
When you buy glow sticks, the "crack" noise to activate them is breaking a little glass vial of hydrogen peroxide. , If you so desire, mess around with the recipe to see what warrants the best results.
This reaction works because TCPO and Sodium Acetate release energy when combined, as they start to decay.
This energy is picked up by the florescent dyes, which can convert energy into light.
More of each leads to more energy and a longer reaction.
About the Author
Paul Burns
Experienced content creator specializing in organization guides and tutorials.
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