Title: Fenton reaction
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - Fenton reaction
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.FT06786
Status: current

Definition
$\ce{Fe^{2+} + H2O2 -> Fe^{3+} + OH^{.} + OH^{−}}$ . This is the iron-salt-dependent decomposition of dihydrogen peroxide, generating the highly reactive hydroxyl radical, possibly via an oxoiron(IV) intermediate. Addition of a reducing agent, such as ascorbate, leads to a cycle which increases the damage to biological molecules.

Related Terms
- Haber–Weiss reaction: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/HT06787
- decomposition: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/D01547
- salt: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/S05447

Source
- PAC, 1997, 69, 1251. 'Glossary of terms used in bioinorganic chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1997)' on page 1274 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199769061251)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/FT06786/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/FT06786/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/FT06786/xml

Citation: Citation: 'Fenton reaction' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.FT06786
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Accessed: 2025-09-24T21:18:27+00:00