Confirming the Formation of Hydroxyl Radicals in the Catalytic Decomposition of H2O2 on Metal Oxides Using Coumarin as a Probe

Abstract

AbstractHydrogen peroxide can be catalytically decomposed to O2 and H2O on metal oxide surfaces in contact with aqueous solutions containing H2O2. The initial step in this process has been proposed to be the formation of surface‐bound hydroxyl radicals which has recently been verified using tris as a radical scavenger. Here, we make use of the unique fluorescent product 7‐hydroxycoumarin formed in the reaction between hydroxyl radicals and coumarin to probe the formation of surface‐bound hydroxyl radicals. The experiments clearly show that 7‐hydroxycoumarin is formed upon catalytic decomposition of H2O2 in aqueous suspensions containing ZrO2‐particles and coumarin, thereby confirming the formation of surface‐bound hydroxyl radicals in this process. The results are quantitatively compared to results on the same system using tris as a probe for hydroxyl radicals. The effects of the two probes on the system under study are compared and it is concluded that coumarin has a significantly lower impact on the system.