A significant phenomenon is observed when indium tin oxide (ITO) glass is used as the anode in electrochemical studies. Notable luminescent signals are observed when a pulse potential is applied to an ITO electrode in alkaline solution in the absence of a luminescent reagent. This paper discusses the mechanism of this luminescence effect in detail. The investigation reveals that the reactive oxygen species (ROSS) generated during the electrolysis are O-2(center dot-), OH center dot and H2O2, It was also found that the singlet oxygen (O-1(2)) produced subsequently acted as the indispensable light-emitting entity and the ITO was a critical intensification determinant. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.