Abstract: A sensitized room temperature/phosphorimetric method by using biacetyl as an energy acceptor for the determination of acetone in solution was developed.Acetone was excited at 274 nm and the phosphorescence intensity emitted from biacetyl was measured at 515 nm.The factors affecting the stability of the sensitized phosphorescence at room temperature in solution were investigated and discussed.Asimple and effective unit which can be operated on the cell holder for the deoxygenation of the solution with N₂ gas was also designed.The calibration curve was linear over the concentration range of 2.0×10^-4～1.5×10^-2 mol/L(r=0.999) and the limit of detection was 8.0×10^-5 mol/L.

Key words: Acetone, Biacetyl, Sensitized room temperature phosphorimetry