Copper peroxide explained

Copper peroxide is a hypothetical inorganic compound with the chemical formula . The 1:2 ratio of copper and oxygen would be consistent with copper in its common +2 oxidation state and a peroxide group. Although samples of this composition have not been isolated, has attracted interest from computational perspective. One highly cited analysis concludes that gaseous is a superoxide, with copper in a +1 oxidation state: .^[1]

History

Species claimed to be "copper peroxide" have been claimed, e.g., by the reaction of cold solutions of Schweizer's reagent—a source of copper(II)—and hydrogen peroxide..^[2] The Schweizer's reagent used must not contain excess ammonia.

It was once claimed to result from the very slow reaction of finely divided cupric oxide with cold hydrogen peroxide.^[3]

Several molecular copper peroxide complexes have been reported, but these species always feature supporting organic ligands.^[4]

Notes and References

1. 10.1021/jp002252s . Systematic Study of Oxo, Peroxo, and Superoxo Isomers of 3d-Metal Dioxides and Their Anions . 2000 . Gutsev . G. L. . Rao . B. K. . Jena . P. . The Journal of Physical Chemistry A . 104 . 51 . 11961–11971 . 2000JPCA..10411961G .
2. Book: The Collected Works of Sir Humphry Davy: Discourses delivered before the Royal society. Elements of agricultural chemistry, pt. I. 1894. The Chemical Society (Great Britain). 32.
3. Einige Beobachtungen über die höheren Sauerstoffverbindungen des Kupfers . Gerhard . Krüss . Gerhard Krüss . Ber. . 17 . 2 . 2593–2597 . 1884 . 10.1002/cber.188401702186 . abstract.
4. 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00636 . Copper–Oxygen Complexes Revisited: Structures, Spectroscopy, and Reactivity . 2017 . Elwell . Courtney E. . Gagnon . Nicole L. . Neisen . Benjamin D. . Dhar . Debanjan . Spaeth . Andrew D. . Yee . Gereon M. . Tolman . William B. . Chemical Reviews . 117 . 3 . 2059–2107 . 28103018 . 5963733 .