MadSci Network: Chemistry |
Can Hydrogen Peroxide reform after decomposing in normal conditions?
An experiment I have done has shown quite large fluctuations in concentration of H2O2 when left to decompose in a variety of conditions. The concentration rises at night and falls during the day. Could it be due to the heat decomposing it then it reforming at night? Hmm. Almost anything at all (metal particles, alkali, traces of silicate dissolved from glass containers) will catalyze the decomposition of H2O2 (Greenwood & Earnshaw, Chemistry of the Elements, 1st Edition, Pergamon Press, 1984). I can't answer your question very well without more information, but I'll take a stab at it: If you are leaving the stuff in an open container, all sorts of material will fall into it. This would catalyze the decomposition quite nicely. But having the concentration rise is another matter. So my presumption is that you are studying decomposition in a closed container. My guess is that the container contains organic material (finger grease, for example), which is oxidized reversibly by the peroxide. The industrial synthesis of hydrogen peroxide uses a process in which water is oxidized by an organic oxidizing agent; perhaps that is what is happening here. During the day, heat or light might drive the reaction in one direction, while during the night it reverses itself.
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