Formation of Organic Peroxides - doe-hdbk-1106-97

DOE-HDBK-1106-97

Instructor's Notes

EPA-C: Possible Human

Carcinogen: Limited evidence

of carcinogenicity in animals

in the absence of human data.

4.0

Formation of Organic Peroxides

Organic peroxides are a class of compounds that have unusual

stability problems that make them among the most hazardous

substances found in the laboratory. As a class, organic

peroxides are considered to be powerful explosives and are

sensitive to heat, friction, impact, and light, as well as to strong

oxidizing and reducing agents. Common compounds that form

peroxides during storage include:

ethyl ether.

isopropyl ether.

potassium metal.

vinyl chloride.

cyclohexene.

dicyclopentadiene.

vinyl acetylene.

dioxane.

acetal.

butadiene.

vinyl ethers.

styrene.

diacetylene.

vinyl acetate.

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