Synthesis of a novel chemiluminescent reagent for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in snow waters

7-(4,6-Dichloro-1,3,5-triazinylamino)-4-methylcoumarin (DTMC) was synthesized as a completely new chemiluminescent reagent, and with it a novel chemiluminescence method was developed for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in the absence of any added catalyst or cooxidant. The chemiluminescence intensity of the DTMC-H2O2 system could be enhanced by the addition of cation surfactants. The chemiluminescence intensity was directly proportional to the concentration of H2O2 in the range 1.0×10−7–4.0×10−4 mol l−1, and the detection limit was 4.0×10−8 mol l−1. The relative S.D. was 4.9% for 1.0×10−6 mol l−1 of H2O2 (n=10). The selectivity of this method was high, and most of the transition metal ions have no effect on the determination. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide in snow water. A possible mechanism of the chemiluminescence reaction is also discussed.