Reactions of Peroxides

The peroxides we will be discussing are of the form X2O2

. The variable X represents any metal that can form a peroxide with oxygen.

Reaction with water: If the temperature of the reaction is kept constant despite the fact that the reaction is exothermic then the reaction proceeds as follows.

If the reaction is not done at a constant temperature, then the reaction of the peroxide and water will result in the hydrogen peroxide that is produced to decompose into water and oxygen.

Reaction with dilute acid: This reaction is more exothermic than that with water. The heat produced causes the hydrogen peroxide to decompose to water and oxygen. The reaction is shown below.