A chemiluminescent lantern: a coordination cage catalysed oxidation of luminol followed by chemiluminescence resonance energy-transfer

A molecule of luminol bound as guest inside a Co(8) coordination cage host undergoes oxidation by H(2)O(2) to generate chemiluminescence by a process in which the Co(ii) ions in the cage superstructure activate the H(2)O(2): accordingly the cage not only co-locates the reactants but also acts as a redox partner in the catalysis. The luminescence from oxidation of the cavity-bound luminol can transfer its excitation energy to surface-bound fluorescein molecules in an unusual example of Chemiluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (CRET).