The Role of Chemistry in History

Introduction – Discovery – How is it Made?

Uses 1  – Uses 2 – Uses 3 

Hydrogen Peroxide and History – Hydrogen Peroxide and the Future

Hydrogen peroxide is manufactured today almost exclusively by the autoxidation of 2-ethyl-9,10-dihydroxyanthracene (C₁₆H₁₄O₂) to 2-ethylanthraquinone (C₁₆H₁₂O₂) and hydrogen peroxide using oxygen from the air.

In this reaction, the hydroxy groups on the middle ring of anthracene are deprotonated and are turned ketones, while two double bonds are lost from the middle ring and are replaced as C=O double bonds in the ketone groups. The derivative is then extracted out and reduced back to the dihydroxy compound using hydrogen gas in the presence of a metal catalyst. The overall equation for the process is deceptively simple:

H₂ + O₂ → H₂O₂