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Hydrogen peroxide

Article By:

Giguère, Paul A. Formerly, Department of Chemistry, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada.

Last reviewed:May 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.329200

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A binary compound of hydrogen and oxygen, empirical formula H2O2, used mostly in dilute aqueous solutions as an oxidizing agent. Hydrogen peroxide was discovered in 1818 by the French chemist Louis-Jacques Thenard, who named it eau oxygénée (oxygenated water). It is unstable and decomposes readily into water and oxygen. As a strong oxidizing agent, hydrogen peroxide has major applications in bleaching. See also: Bleaching; Hydrogen; Oxidizing agent; Oxygen; Peroxide

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