Alexein

Yeah, that always seems to be the bottleneck for most amateurs. I'm thinking of making a sizeable batch of TCPO and selling it online. the other chemicals for the reaction are relatively easy to come by. heck you could just crack open a used glow-stick and revive it by adding the TCPO.

ok... not exactly a "stick" its more of a vial... but it demonstrates chemiluminescence. Recipie is quite straightforward: Start with Diethyl Phthalate, add bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate "TCPO", stir in some hydrogen peroxide, a bit of sodium acetate to improve the effect of the peroxide and a dash of bis(phenyethynyl)anthracene for color. First picture is the vial with the flash on, the second picture is the vial with the flash off. Its hard to see, but those "rocks" in the bottom are actually pure crystals of TCPO. if you look closely, you can tell its not the crystals that are growing, but the surface as the crystals dissolve and react with the peroxide. It doesn't look like much, but there is enough in there to give a week of useful light, and a month of detectable light. third and fourth pictures use 9,10-diphenylanthracene for blue color. I like the last picture the most since you can clearly see the crystals and the "glow layer" as they dissolve. making TCPO was the hard part and not something i reccomend for those without proper fumehooded labs.

O_o DUDE!!!! THATS THE UNSTABLE FORM OF POTASSIUM PEROXIDE/SUPEROXIDE!!!! I've encountered it before. It forms from the oxygen in the air dissolving the in the oil and growing onto the potassium. Unlike sodium where the oxide layer protects the metal from further attack, potasium oxides are like rust... they just keep on growing. It looks like a small layer so you're ok.... but as it keeps growing it becomes highly unstable. People have died because they stored potassium samples for years and came back layer to find a purple mass... when they picked up the jar... GET RID OF THAT SAMPLE ASAP!!! I know i sound like i'm flaming but i'm not joking, here's the citation Journal of Chemical Health and Safety Volume 14, Issue 2, March-April 2007, Pages 21-32 "Review of the safety of potassium and potassium oxides, including deactivation by introduction into water"