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In the Laboratory

The Enthalpy of Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide A General Chemistry Calorimetry Experiment
Charles J. Marzzacco Department of Physical Sciences, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI 02908-1991; cmarzzacco@ric.edu

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Thermochemistry is an important topic in high school and college introductory chemistry courses. Laboratory experiments on this topic usually involvemeasurements of heat of acid–base neutralizations, heat of solution, or heat of displacement reactions using Styrofoam cup calorimeters (1–3). The experiment described here involves the determination of the enthalpy change for a simple decomposition reaction. In its simplest form, the experiment can be performed in less than one hour and is therefore suitable for the short laboratory periods thatexist in many high schools. The chemicals are inexpensive and present no disposal problems. The experiment involves the decomposition of aqueous H2O2 using Fe(NO3) 3 as a catalyst. Household hydrogen peroxide (3.0 mass %, density = 1.00 g/mL) is used as the source of H2O2. The decomposition reaction is shown below: 2H2O2(aq) → 2H2O( ) + O2(g) It should be noted that the oxygen is initially formed asO2(aq), which is then released to the atmosphere as O2(g). During the course of the reaction, most of the oxygen produced is given off as a gas. The molarity of the H2O2 in the solution can be calculated from the mass percentage of H2O 2 in the solution. Assuming a 3.0% concentration and a density of 1.00 g/mL, the concentration of the H 2O2 is 0.88 M. For more accurate work, the concentration ofH2 O2 in the solution can be determined by titration with standard KMnO4. Procedure A thermometer covering the range of 15 to 50 °C and precise to 0.01 °C is suspended in a 6-ounce Styrofoam cup on a magnetic stirrer in the usual way. Fifty milliliters of the household hydrogen peroxide solution and a stir bar are added to the cup. The solution is stirred slowly and the temperature is recordedevery minute for four minutes. At the 5-minute mark, 10.0 mL of 0.50 M Fe(NO3)3 is added to the solution. The temperature is again measured at the 6-minute mark and every succeeding minute up to a total of about 20 minutes. The resulting time–temperature graph is shown in Figure 1. The initial temperature is obtained by extrapolating the five points prior to adding the catalyst to the point ofmixing. The final temperature is obtained by extrapolating the linear portion of the graph (10 to 20 minutes) to the point of mixing. Calculations The specific heat of the reaction mixture was taken as 4.18 J °C 1 g 1. The value for the calorimeter constant used in this experiment was obtained from the measured temperature change that occurs when a measured quantity of warm water is added to a measuredquantity of room-temperature water in the calorimeter. The calorimeter constant depends on the

Figure 1. The temperature-vs-time graph for the decomposition of H 2O2(aq). The calorimeter initially contained 50.0 mL of 0.921 M H2O2. Ten milliliters of 0.50 M Fe(NO3)3 was added at the 5-minute mark. The extrapolated initial and final temperatures were 21.94 and 39.10 °C, respectively.

volumeof solution used. For the experimental conditions of this experiment, a calorimeter constant of 5 J °C 1 was obtained. A detailed procedure for the measurement of the calorimeter constant is given in the JCE Online Lab Documentation that accompanies this paper.W The calculations presented here are based on the results shown in Figure 1. The experiment involved mixing 50.0 mL of 0.921 M H2O2(aq)with 10.0 mL of 0.50 M Fe(NO3)3(aq). According to the graph, the initial temperature was 21.94 °C and the final temperature was 39.10 °C. The heat change for the solution is given by the formula qsoln = specific heat of solution × mass of solution × (TF – TI) = (4.18 J g 1 °C 1)(60.0 g)(39.10 °C – 21.94 °C) = 4.30 × 103 J. The heat change for the calorimeter is qcalorimeter = C(TF – TI) = (5.0 J °C...