Tannic acid was found to inhibit chemiluminescence of the luminol-H2O2
reaction catalyzed by Cu2+. The mechanism of inhibition was investiga
ted by chemiluminescent spectra, UV-visible spectra and variation of r
eaction conditions. A Row injection method has been developed for the
determination of tannic acid based on the inhibition of the chemilumin
escence of the luminol-H2O2-Cu2+ system by tannic acid. The method is
simple, selective and sensitive with a detection limit of 9x10(-9) mol
/l. It is effective to determine tannic acid in the range of 7x10(-8)-
1x10(-5) mol/l. The variation coefficient of eleven determination for
6x10(-7) mol/l tannic acid is 2.5%. The method has been successfully a
pplied to the determination of tannic acid in real Chinese gall and ho
p pellets samples. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.