Chemiluminescence from the reaction of tin(II) with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III).

Unlike many other metal and metalloid ions, tin(II) elicits intense, analytically useful chemiluminescence upon reaction with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III) in acidic aqueous solution. This finding provides new insight into the nature of this widely used reagent and has enabled the first direct, selective determination of a metal ion with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III).