Hydrogen Peroxide

Synonyms:

Hydroperoxide, hydrogen dioxide, perhydrol

Chemical formula:

H2O2

International name:

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

CAS No.:

7722-84-1

Grade:

Import

Appearance:

Clear colorless liquid

Hydrogen peroxide, H2O2 is the simplest representative of peroxides. A colorless liquid with a metal taste, miscible in all proportions in water, alcohol and ester. Concentrated water solutions are explosive. Hydrogen peroxide is a good solvent. From water, it liberates as unstable crystallohydrate H2O2•2H2O. It decomposes to oxygen and water under heating, exposed to ultraviolet light as well as in the presence of ions of transition metals and silver:

2Н2O2 → 2H2O + O2

Hydrogen peroxide has strong oxidative and reducing properties. It oxidates nitrites to nitrates, separates iodine from metal iodides, disintegrates unsaturated compounds at double linkages. When exposed to strong oxidants, H2O2 exhibits reducing properties releasing free oxygen.

Production:

• Hydrogen peroxide is produced in industry by a reaction involving organic substances, in particular, by isopropyl alcohol catalytic oxidation: (CH3)2СН(ОН) + O2 → CH3C(O)CH3 + H2O2. Valuable by-product of this reaction is acetone.
• In laboratory conditions, to produce hydrogen peroxide, use reaction BaO2 + H2SO4 → H2O2 + BaSO4. Concentration and purification of hydrogen peroxide is performed by careful distillation.

Application:

Due to strong oxidative properties, hydrogen peroxide 50%, H2O2, is widely used in everyday life and in industry as follows:

• as a bleacher in textile and paper production;
• as an oxidant in fuel production;
• in analytical chemistry, medicine, hydrogen peroxide solutions are used as an antiseptic;
• as a foaming agent when producing porous materials;
• in production of disinfecting and bleaching agents;
• in agriculture and plant growing for seed, silo, soil treatment, in animal breeding in incubators, for animal sterilization;
• in food industry, hydrogen peroxide solutions are used for disinfection of equipment process surfaces, which directly contact with products. In addition, at enterprises producing dairy products, juices, hydrogen peroxide solutions are used for package disinfection, etc.