How to Mix Peroxide and Potassium Permanganate

Hydrogen peroxide is a naturally occurring by-product of oxygen, made from two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms. Hydrogen peroxide is a weak acid used for bleaching, disinfecting and an antiseptic. Anyone working with hydrogen peroxide must be familiar with personal protective equipment, first aid procedures and the proper handling of this chemical, according to Solvay Chemicals. People should use only approved materials for pumps, piping and hoses. In the list of things needed to perform this chemical equation, materials are named specifically to ensure the expected outcome and the safety of those performing the equation.

Things You'll Need

• Safety glasses
• Safety gloves
• Scale
• 0.3g dry sodium oxalate
• 2, 500-mL Erlenmeyer flasks
• 600 mL deionized water
• 50 mL sulfuric acid
• 4 glass beads
• Hot plate
• Potassium permanganate
• 50-mL Class A burette
• 50 mL beaker
• Mohr pipette

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Instructions

Standardization of potassium permanganate (O.1N)

• 1

  Weigh about 0.3g of dry sodium oxalate into a 500-mL Erlenmeyer flask.

• 2

  Add 200mL of water, 50 mL of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and 3 or 4 glass beads. Heat the solution to boiling on a hot plate.

• 3

  Remove the flask from the heat and add the potassium permanganate per solution from a 50-mL Class-A burette until the first appearance of a faint pink color that holds for 30 seconds. The solution in the flask must not fall below 70*C before the endpoint is reached.

• 4

  Normality of KMnO4= (WeightNa2C2O4)(2)(1000)

  ______________________

  mL KMnO4(134)

  KMnO4 = potassium permanganate Na2C2O4= sodium oxalate

Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide Concentrate (30% to 70%)

• 5

  Weigh a 50-mL beaker to the nearest 0.1mg. Use a Mohr pipette to add the following to the 50-mL beaker: +/- 5g of sample for 35% H2O2; +/-3.5g of sample for 50% H2O2; +/-2.5g of sample for 70% H2O2; about 20g of sample for 1% H2O2. Wear safety gloves and goggles when handling concentrated peroxide.

• 6

  Re-weigh the beaker immediately to the nearest 0.1mg. Record the gain in weight as W. Transfer the sample to a 500-mL Volumetric flask containing about 250mL of water and 2 mL of H2SO4 (1:3). Rinse the beaker into the Volumetric flask. Dilute to volume with water and mix well.

• 7

  Pipette 20.0 mL of the solution into a 500-mL Erlenmeyer flask containing 15 mL of H2SO4 (1:3) and 60 mL of water. Add the standardized potassium permanganate per solution from a 50-mL Class-A burette until the first appearance of a faint pink color that holds for 30 seconds. Record the volume delivered as V.

• 8

  Calculation: %H2O2(w/w)=(V)(N)(1.701)(25)

  _______________________

  W

  Where V= mL of potassium permanganate used in titration

  N= normality of potassium permanganate

  W= grams of sample weighed into 50-mL beaker

  1.701= weight per milliequivalent of H2O2 x 100

  25 = dilution factor