Zinc Peroxide
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Zinc peroxide (ZnO2) is a chemical compound of zinc that appears as a bright yellow powder at room temperature. It was historically used as a surgical
antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...
. More recently zinc peroxide has also been used as an
oxidant An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or "Electron acceptor, accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ''electr ...
in explosives and pyrotechnic mixtures. Its properties have been described as a transition between ionic and covalent peroxides.


Preparation and structure

Structure of solid zinc peroxide, left, 120px, thumb Zinc peroxide can be synthesized through the reaction of
zinc chloride Zinc chloride is an Inorganic chemistry, inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula ZnCl2ยท''n''H2O, with ''n'' ranging from 0 to 4.5, forming water of hydration, hydrates. Zinc chloride, anhydrous and its hydrates, are colo ...
and
hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...
. According to
X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science of determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to Diffraction, diffract in specific directions. By measuring th ...
, the compound consists of octahedral Zn(II) centers bonded to six distinct peroxide (O22-) ligands. The overall motif is very similar to that for
iron pyrite The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue ...
(FeS2). The structure, with intact O-O bonds, makes clear that this material is a peroxide, not a dioxide.


Medical Use

The treatment of burrowing ulcers in the abdominal wall with zinc peroxide was first recorded in 1933 and throughout the 1940s ZnO2 was used as a disinfectant in surgical . Zinc peroxide was, however, deemed ineffective against certain bacterial strains, such as ''Streptococcus viridans'', ''staphylococcus aureus'', ''E. coli'', ''B. proteus'', and ''B. pyocyoneus''.


Safety

Zinc peroxide is hazardous in case of skin contact, of eye contact, or inhalation.


References

{{Zinc compounds Peroxides
peroxide In chemistry, peroxides are a group of Chemical compound, compounds with the structure , where the R's represent a radical (a portion of a complete molecule; not necessarily a free radical) and O's are single oxygen atoms. Oxygen atoms are joined ...
Oxidizing agents