Development of a Spectrophotometric Method for Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide using Response Surface Methodology

Research Article

Austin J Anal Pharm Chem. 2015; 2(5): 1051.

Development of a Spectrophotometric Method for Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide using Response Surface Methodology

Shariati-Rad M*, Irandoust M and Salarmand N

Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

*Corresponding author: Shariati-Rad M, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

Received: October 15, 2015; Accepted: November 13, 2015; Published: November 16, 2015

Abstract

A spectrophotometric method was introduced for determination of hydrogen peroxide in different samples. The method is based on the hydroxylation of phenol. The reaction takes place in the presence of Fe2+ in the sulfuric acid medium. Factors influencing the reaction were explored by response surface methodology. Inoptimal conditions, a wide linear range for calibration was obtained as 2.0×10-7-3.0×10-4mol L-1 and its detection limit was 9.5×10-8mol L-1. The product of the reaction possesses two bands with maxima located at 245 and 300 nm. The method was successfully applied for determination of hydrogen peroxide in water and rainwater samples.

Keywords: Spectrophotometric; Hydrogen peroxide; Response surface methodology; Rain water

Introduction

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is one of the reactive oxygen species found in seawater as a product formed photo chemically from dissolved organic matter (DOM) [1]. Hydrogen peroxideis a key species in the reactions of the troposphere, being involved in important reactions such as the catalyzed and uncatalyzed aqueous phase oxidation of Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and the ultraviolet enhanced aqueous phase oxidation of organic species [2].

Hydrogen peroxide is widely used in the fields of foods, pharmaceuticals, dental products, textiles, environmental protection and it is also involved in advanced oxidation processes and various biochemical processes [3-6].

Determination of hydrogen peroxide is usually based on the production of colored peroxy compounds or on its oxidizing and reducing properties [7]. Based on this property, numerous methods have been developed for the determination of hydrogen peroxide. These methods can be classified into spectrophotometric [2,5,8-11], spectrofluorimetric [12-14] and electrochemical methods [15-22]. However, chromatographic methods have also been applied for determination of hydrogen peroxide [23-25].

Exploration of the literatures reveals that hydrogen peroxide has been found rather ubiquitously in a wide range of concentrations in natural waters. In ground water, the concentrations as low as 50 nmol L-1 [26] has been reported. In the surface oceans, concentration of hydrogen peroxide varies from about 10 to several hundred nmol L-1 [27,28]. In lakes, estuaries and rivers, higher concentrations up to several μmol L-1 have been reported [29,30]. In rain water, the highest concentrations ranging from several μmol L-1 to tens of μmol L-1 [30- 33] have been obtained. Therefore, in addition to the need for a rapid, simple and sensitive method for determination of hydrogen peroxide, it is necessary to develop a method with a wide dynamic linear range.

Hydrogen peroxide involves in Fenton reaction, which is very important in both laboratories and industries [5,34,35]. In the present work, the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with phenol in acidic solution and in the presence of Fe2+ provides a method for the spectrophotometric determination of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution.

Experimental

Apparatus

Recording of the absorption spectra in the spectral range of 200– 400 nm was performed by an Agilent 8453 UV-Vis spectrophotometer equipped with diode array detector in 1 cm path length quartz cells. Design and analysis of the experiments were carried out by the MINITAB (Minitab Inc. Release 16.0) statistical package.

Sample collection

Rainwater was collected in three container located in different area of Razi University during a rainy night. Volumes equivalent to 10 mL of each container were taken and mixed and homogenized well. Three 100 mL tap water samples were collected in different times in a day without adding any preservative. After mixing the water samples of each type and homogenizing, an appropriate volume was taken for the analysis. The selected water samples were filtered through a Whatman No. 41 filter paper.

Reagents and solutions

All of the chemicals and reagents used in this work were of analytical reagent grade. Iron chloride (FeCl2), H2O2 (35%, w/w), phenol and sulfuric acid were purchased from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany).Deionized water was used in all experiments.

A stock 0.01molL-1 standard solution of hydrogen peroxide was prepared in deionized water. Working solutions were prepared by diluting the standard stock solution to appropriate volumes with deionized water whenever required. Stock 300.0 mgL-1 standard solutions of phenol and 5.00×10-3molL-1 FeCl2 were prepared in deionized water.

Results and Discussion

Response surface methodology

By using design of experiment (DOE) based on statistical principles, researchers can extract, from a minimum number of experiments, a maximum of useful information about the system under study [36]. Among this information is the interaction between the factors. For this purpose, all factors are changed from one experiment to the next, simultaneously. The reason of performing this type of experiment is that variables can influence each other and the optimal value for one of them may be dependent on the values of the others [36]. Interaction means that the effect of a factor on the response depends on its level or on the level of the other factor(s). In response surface methodology (RSM), surface illustration of the variation of the response with the change in the level of factors is used to decide about how the levels of factors influence the response. In central composite design (CCD), as a response surface methodology, the central point for each factor in the coded form is zero and the design is symmetrical around it [37]. Factors and their considered center points in the current experiments are concentration of sulfuric acid (x1), Fe2+(x2) and phenol (x3) are 0.15 mol L-1, 2.75×10-4mol L-1 and 100.0 mg L-1, respectively. For a system with three factors (n = 3), CCD consists of 20 experiments. Values of the factors in these 20 experiments and obtained responses are shown in Table 1. Concentration of hydrogen peroxide in these experiments is 1.00×10- 4mol L-1.