Simple, but beautifully versatile. Perhaps not a description many would choose for hydrogen peroxide, but an accurate one none the less, and this unique book explains the reasons behind the description. Beginning with an historical overview, and guidelines for the safe handling of peroxygens, Applications of Hydrogen Peroxide and Derivatives goes on to cover key activation mechanisms, organic functional group oxidations and the use of hydrogen peroxide with heterogeneous catalysts. The clean-up of environmental pollutants; chemical purification; and extraction of metals from their ores are also discussed in detail, using actual examples from industry. The versatility of this reagent may well prove to be a key to integrated pollution control in the future. This book should therefore be read by academics and industrialists at all levels, to encourage wider applications of the use of hydrogen peroxide in laboratories.

Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical that is becoming increasingly fashionable as an oxidant, both in industry and in academia and whose production is expected to increase significantly in the next few years. This growth in interest is largely due to environmental considerations related to the clean nature of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant, its by-product being only water. To date this chemical has largely been employed as a non-selective oxidant in operations like the bleaching of paper, cellulose and textiles, or in the formulation of detergents, and only to a minimal extent in the manufacture of organic chemicals. This book has been organized to cover the different aspects of the chemistry of hydrogen peroxide. The various chapters into which the book is divided have been written critically by the authors with the general aim of stimulating new ideas and emphasizing those aspects that are likely to lead to new developments in organic synthesis in the coming future.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important oxidant, used in various fields of industry, such as paper manufacturing, production of polymers, detergents, and cosmetics. Considering that the molecule degrades only to H2O and O2, it is regarded as a green chemical. Unfortunately, the incumbent method of H2O2 synthesis, based on anthraquinone oxidation, although efficient, is not environmentally friendly, as it requires fossil fuels and significant energy input. Therefore, there are efforts underway to reduce the ecological impact of hydrogen peroxide production. Some of the most promising approaches involve catalytic reduction of O2 to H2O2 in an aqueous environment. This can be coupled with water oxidation. As the required energy could be delivered in different ways, hydrogen peroxide synthesis can be achieved by electrocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, or photocatalysis. This thesis explores the possibility of using organic electronic materials as catalysts for H2O2 evolution in oxygenated water solutions. Organic electronics is a field of materials science focused on conducting and semiconducting organic molecules. These materials offer many possible advantages, related to low cost, flexibility, and good optoelectronic properties. Huge progress in the field over the last years led to their commercial applications in e.g. organic light emitting diodes and photovoltaics. Only very recently have organic electronics begun to be considered from the point of view of catalysis. In the first two papers, we investigate electrocatalytic activity of an organic pigment (PTCDI) and a conducting polymer (PEDOT) towards oxygen reduction to hydrogen peroxide. Both types of catalysts are chemically stable and able to operate in a wide pH range. In paper 3, we demonstrate that H2O2-evolving photocathodes can be based on an organic PN heterojunction, giving devices of a record-breaking performance. In the first part of paper 4, the same concept was tested for a naturally-occurring semiconductor, eumelanin, leading to a first report of photoelectrocatalytic properties of this material. In the second part of paper 4, as well as in papers 5 and 6, we explore, respectively, photochemical hydrogen peroxide synthesis with eumelanin, organic semiconductors, and organic dyes. We show that the photostability of catalysts is higher for materials with low-lying HOMO level and it can be increased by an addition of a reducing agent to the reaction system. Our findings prove that already existing organic electronic materials can be successfully applied in H2O2 evolution for environmentally friendly chemical synthesis, suggesting their use in harvesting of solar energy and in situ generation of hydrogen peroxide for biomedical applications. Väteperoxid (H2O2) är en viktig oxidant som används inom olika industrier, såsom papperstillverkning och produktion av polymerer, tvättmedel och kosmetika. Med tanke på att molekylen bryts ner till vatten (H2O) och syre (O2) betraktas den som en grön kemikalie. Tyvärr är den befintliga metoden för framställning av H2O2 baserad på oxidation av en antrakinon, en metod som är effektiv, men inte miljövänlig eftersom den kräver fossila bränslen och betydande energitillförsel. Det pågår därför ansträngningar för att minska den ekologiska effekten av väteperoxidproduktionen. Några av de mest lovande metoderna involverar katalytisk O2 till H2O2-reduktion i vattenlösning, kombinerat med vattenoxidation. Eftersom den nödvändiga energin kan levereras på olika sätt kan väteperoxidsyntesen uppnås genom elektrokatalys, fotoelektrokatalys eller fotokatalys. Denna avhandling undersöker möjligheten att använda organiska elektroniska material som katalysatorer för framställning av H2O2i syresatta vattenlösningar. Organisk elektronik är ett område inom materialvetenskap med fokus på ledande och halvledande organiska molekyler. Dessa material erbjuder många fördelar, såsom låg kostnad, flexibilitet och goda optoelektroniska egenskaper. Enorma framsteg på området har under de senaste åren lett till deras kommersiella tillämpningar i till exempel organiska ljusemitterande dioder och fotovoltaik. Nyligen har också organisk elektronik börjat övervägas ur katalysens synvinkel. I de två första artiklarna undersöker vi en elektrokatalytisk aktivitet av ett organiskt pigment (PTCDI) och en ledande polymer (PEDOT) i respekt till syrereduktion och väteperoxidproduktion. Båda typerna av katalysatorer är kemiskt stabila och kan arbeta inom ett brett pH-område. I artikel 3 visar vi att H2O2-producerande fotokatoder kan baseras på en organisk PN-gränsyta, vilket ger enheter med en rekordbrytande kapacitet. I den första delen av artikel 4 testades samma koncept för en naturligt förekommande halvledare, eumelanin, vilket ledde till en första rapport om fotoelektrokatalytiska egenskaper hos detta material. I den andra delen av artikel 4, samt i artikel 5 och 6, undersöker vi fotokemisk väteperoxidsyntes med eumelanin, organiska halvledare och organiska färgämnen. Vi visar att fotostabiliteten hos katalysatorer är högre för material med lågt liggande HOMO-nivå och att den kan ökas genom en tillsats av ett reduktionsmedel till reaktionssystemet. Våra fynd visar att redan befintliga organiska elektroniska material framgångsrikt kan tillämpas i H2O2-utvecklingen för miljövänlig kemisk syntes, vilket antyder att de kan användas för att ta tillvara på solenergi och för produktion av väteperoxid inom biomedicin.

Interest in the science of exercise dates back to the time of ancient Greece. Today exercise is viewed not only as a leisurely activity but also as an effective preventive and therapeutic tool in medicine. Further biomedical studies in exercise physiology and biochemistry reports that strenuous physical exercise might cause oxidative lipid damage in various tissues. The generation of reactive oxygen species is elevated to a level that overwhelms the tissue antioxidant defense systems resulting in oxidative stress. The Handbook of Oxidants and Antioxidants in Exercise examines the different aspects of exercise-induced oxidative stress, its management, and how reactive oxygen may affect the functional capacity of various vital organs and tissues. It includes key related issues such as analytical methods, environmental factors, nutrition, aging, organ function and several pathophysiological processes. This timely publication will be of relevance to those in biomedical science and was designed to be readily understood by the general scientific audience.