Abstract
The potentially explosive reaction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and copper chloride (CuCl2) was investigated. Pressure tests revealed that the reaction was strongly temperature - dependent and can easily undergo runaway reaction. Nevertheless, there was only a slight pressure increase at the low temperatures studied or when using low concentrations of CuCl2. Under the conditions generating the slight pressure increase, hypochlorite anions (ClO−) are generated and the acidity increases. As the reaction reaches completion, ClO− disappears, and the acidity decreases. Interestingly, the addition of phosphate buffer to maintain the weakly acid conditions led to a runaway reaction, and the use of basic ClO− promoted the exothermic reaction. Based on the results, acidity has a strong impact on the reaction behaviour.
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