Dennis Wrin

with John Segreto

Catalyzed Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide

Introduction and Purpose

The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is known to proceed very slowly on its own in
an aqueous solution. For example, a store-bought bottle (3% H2O2 by mass) is considered to be
stable for a very long time. However like most chemical reactions there are a number of know
catalysts that can be used to increase the rate of this decomposition reaction shown below.
2 H2O2(aq) 2 H2O + O2(g)
Some of the known catalysts for this reaction include potassium iodide, manganese (IV) oxide,
and the enzyme catalase. For this experiment, potassium iodide was used for reaction rate
analysis.
Determination for the rate of this catalyzed decomposition can be performed if it is
carried out in a closed apparatus by analyzing the pressure increase as a function of time. In
addition the rate law of the reaction can be determined by varying the concentration of reactant;
and further the activation energy calculated by varying the temperature (1).
The objective of this lab is to carry out the catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen
peroxide, via potassium iodide, under varying conditions, such as concentration of reactants and
temperature. Data was collected from the reactions using a gas pressure sensor to analyze the
rate of formation for oxygen gas. From this analysis the rate constant was calculated in addition
to determining the rate law expression for the reaction. Further using the varied temperature
information, the activation energy was calculated as well.

Theory
To determine the rate law of this reaction, the rates of reaction from a series of experiments were
observed and recorded. The concentration of one reactant is held constant between two different
experiments, acting as the control, while the concentration of the second reactant is different
between the two experiments. For the third the other reactant is held constant, while the first is
varied. The rate of reaction is measured in each experiment. The order of the reaction with
respect to each reactant is determined in this fashion and once the order of each reactant is know
the rate law can then be written.

1
Rate=k [ H 2 O2 ]
Furthermore, by varying the temperature in the fourth reaction, the Arrhenius equation can be
used to calculate the activation energy.

ln

k1 E a 1 1

k2
R T2 T1

Data

Run

Reactants

Temperature

Initial rate

(C)

(kPa/s)

10 mL 3.0% H2O2 + 5 mL 0.5 M KI

20.0

0.03393

5 mL 3.0% H2O2 + 5 mL 0.5 M KI

20.1

0.02328

5 mL 3.0% H2O2 + 10 mL 0.5 M KI

20.1

0.04458

10 mL 3.0% H2O2 + 5 mL 0.5 M KI

6.9

0.04241

Results and Analysis

First the initial concentration of hydrogen peroxide is converted into units of molarity
using the molecular weight of 34g/mole and the 3% by mass. This concentration is calculated to
be 0.882M. The initial rate of the reaction must also be converted from units of pressure per
second to units of molarity per second using the ideal gas law, M = n/V = P/RT. Next the
concentration of reactants after mixing was calculated. Finally the rate constant was determined
by dividing the rate by the product of the reactant concentrations.
Initial rate

[H2O2]

[I]

Rate constant

(mol/L-s)

after mixing

after mixing

1.39x10^-5

0.147 M

0.04 M

0.00236

9.55x10^-6

0.0735 M

0.04 M

0.00325

1.83x10^-5

0.0735 M

0.08 M

0.00311

1.82x10^-5

0.147 M

0.04 M

0.00310

Run

1
Rate=k [ H 2 O2 ]
Further by comparing Run 1 and 4 and using the Arrhenius equation the activation energy was
calculated to be 23.9 kJ/mol.

Conclusion
The catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide was carried out successfully in a
closed apparatus, while the increase in pressure from the generated oxygen gas was recorded at
varying concentrations. The increase in pressure was then used to determine the rate constant of
the reaction as well as the generalized rate law. Furthermore by conducting the reaction at a
varied temperature as well, the activation energy was also calculated.