Hello.

 

I used to mix luminol with bleach to get chemiluminescence for a few seconds.

The commercially sold glowsticks are able to glow for hours. Does anyone know what is available to get this more "permanent" kind of luminescence?

Thanks in anticipation

Depends on what you mean by permanent. Light sticks give off light, so the reaction probably requires an energy source, i.e. it's endothermic. In that sense it cannot be permanent.

 

You might want to investigate the bioluminescent reactions in fireflies, glowworms, etc. They might be catalyzed reactions, so that many of the molecules can be "recycled"

Dimmer light gives longer glow time: -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glowstick

I imagine you could slow the rate at which the chemicals that create the glowing effect are mixed. So, instead of sloshing the entire volume of your fluids together at once and trying to find a way to extend the chemical reaction, you might develop a way to trickle them together slower, hence creating new reactions over and over and over again. Or, some combination of slower mixing and reaction extension.

 

Interesting. Ask a club kid somewhere who goes dancing until 4am. I bet you they may know a trick or two.

Putting them in the fridge or freezer makes them dimmer but last longer.