Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Iron shavings, bits and powder did not glow to my Luminol/perborate mixture . I tried each sample twice. I then tried mixing with copper sulfate and it did glow. I do not understand why I am not getting a result from my iron samples.

You might actually be using too much iron for the amount of oxidizer (perborate) you are using.
If all (or most) of the oxidizer reacts with the iron, there might not be enough left to oxidize enuough Luminol to see.

You might try purchasing a small quatity of some 325 mg tablets of Ferrous Sulfate at your local pharmacy. These are over the counter iron supplements. Try grinding one up and seeing if that works. The Ferrous Sulfate and Copper Sulfate are already in their most oxidized states