Interaction of ozone and hydrogen peroxide in water: Implications for analysis of H 2 O 2 in air

We have attempted to measure gaseous H2O2 in air using an aqueous trapping method. With continuous bubbling, H2O2 levels in the traps reached a plateau, indicating that a state of dynamic equilibrium involving H2O2 destruction was established. We attribute this behavior to the interaction of ozone and its decomposition products (OH, O3 −) with H2O2 in aqueous solution. This hypothesis was investigated by replacing the air stream with a mixture of N2, O2 and O3. The results of this experiment show that H O was both produced and destroyed in the traps. These results have led us to question the validity of techniques which employ aqueous traps to measure H2O2in air