Sciencemadness Discussion Board

H2S + H2O2 --> ?

-cyan- - 24-4-2007 at 08:30

hi,
would H2O2 oxidize H2S to S or to one of his oxides?

greetz

woelen - 24-4-2007 at 11:25

Probably to a whole mix of sulphur compounds, the exact result also depending on pH. You may expect sulphur, sulfate and possibly also traces of sulfite (or sulphur dioxide) and dithionate.

vulture - 24-4-2007 at 13:22

Woelen hit the nail on the head.

The problem is that you're eating up H2S which is automatically going to change the pH unless you use a buffer of sorts. Also some of the products could change the pH (sulphites, sulfur dioxide).

-cyan- - 25-4-2007 at 04:30

ok,i looked it up in the HoWi....he says that H2O2 will oxidize it only to S, not to SO2 or SO3
thx

woelen - 25-4-2007 at 07:05

Well, my experience is different. I have done quite a few experiments with sulfides, and these can be oxidized to almost everything. I forgot to mention thiosulfate and tetrathionate.

I found it amazing to see how ugly sulphur compounds behave under slightly different experimental condition. It is very hard to obtain a single clean reaction.