Spectrophotometric determination of hydrogen peroxide and organic hydropheroxides at low concentrations in aqueous solution

Abstract Five procedures are presented for the determination of hydrogen peroxide and organic hydroperoxides (including organic peroxyacids) at concentrations of 1–10 μM in aqueous soltion. All five are spectrophotometric methods, based on formation of phenolphthalein or triiodide, catalytic dye bleaching, coupled oxidation of NADPH, and horseradish peroxidase-coupled oxidations. Each is evaluated in terms of sensitivity, selectivity and reliability. The method based on coupled oxidation of NADPH is the most widely applicable to peroxidic species, whereas the horseradish peroxidase method can be made highly selective for hydrogen peroxide.