Hydrogen peroxide, 2023

Published on 27 January 2023 at 11:23

Hello everyone!

I feel sick unfortunately at this moment and I’m very sorry that I can’t write to you. Meanwhile as I recover, you can read one of my old texts if you want, about hydrogen peroxide.

Väteperoxid

Hydrogen peroxide. Here two hydrogen atoms are joined together with two oxygen atoms. This antiseptic is the simplest peroxide. Peroxides are molecules that have two oxygen atoms that are binding to two other elements. This chemical is used for example as a bleacher, or for wound cleaning or as a disinfectant of relevant gear. In a pharmaceutical industry hydrogen peroxide is often used for sterilization of equipment. It does so thanks to oxidation. Depending on the concentration of it, hydrogen peroxide can be very corrosive and can easily make you blind (cleaning chemicals are very dangerous to the eyes). It is seen as a hazardous chemical, but it is not flammable.

Hydrogen Peroxide

This molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms, and there are covalent bonds. There are lone pairs of valence electrons where the oxygens are in the middle, and that results in an angled molecule. Hydrogen peroxide is polar, and that`s because the electronegativity are forming the bonds. You look on the electronegativity value, you calculate it, and then you can image the appearance of the molecule. The oxygen atoms have a lot of electronegativity. One oxygen gives a value number of 3.45, and one hydrogen gives the number 2.2 in elect. neg.. The difference is 1,25 (polar > 0.5).

PbS + 3 H2O2 ---> PbSO4 + 2 H2O

This reaction above tells us how lead sulfate is being made from lead (II) sulphide and hydrogen peroxide. PbSO4 is toxic for humans in all forms, through contact or inhalation for example. Both PbSO4 and PbS are inorganic compounds, which means that there are no carbon-hydrogen bonds to be found. That gives the compound some special properties because of that. Inorganic molecules often include charged ions, something that organic molecules don´t have (here we find only covalent bonds and not ionic bonds).

Hydrogen peroxide and risks

This chemical is very painful to handle for the body and stomach, if you accidentally ingest very small amounts. Nausea, vomiting and trauma on the body, because stomach contents or fluids are inhaled through the trachea.

Swelling in the gastrointestinal tract because of high levels of oxygen (that is attached), is another symptom. Very dangerous to the eyes according to Meta Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Tiny bit of “Industrial strength (90%)” is fatal! But on the other hand, low concentrations of H2O2 can be used as a disinfectant. 

Hydrogen Peroxide Health & Safety Tips - VelocityEHS


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