Zinc peroxide

Zinc peroxide (ZnO₂) appears as a bright yellow powder at room temperature. It was historically used as a surgical antiseptic. More recently zinc peroxide has also been used as an oxidant in explosives and pyrotechnic mixtures. Its properties have been described as a transition between ionic and covalent peroxides. Zinc peroxide can be synthesized through the reaction of zinc chloride and hydrogen peroxide.

Applications

Since the 1930s zinc peroxide has been applied in a variety of settings, from medicine to aesthetics and even fireworks.

Medical Use

Zinc oxide

Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula ZnO. ZnO is a white powder that is insoluble in water, and it is widely used as an additive in numerous materials and products including rubbers, plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, lubricants, paints, ointments, adhesives, sealants, pigments, foods, batteries, ferrites, fire retardants, and first-aid tapes. It occurs naturally as the mineral zincite, but most zinc oxide is produced synthetically.

ZnO is a wide-bandgap semiconductor of the II-VI semiconductor group. The native doping of the semiconductor due to oxygen vacancies or zinc interstitials is n-type. This semiconductor has several favorable properties, including good transparency, high electron mobility, wide bandgap, and strong room-temperature luminescence. Those properties are used in emerging applications for transparent electrodes in liquid crystal displays, in energy-saving or heat-protecting windows, and in electronics as thin-film transistors and light-emitting diodes.