Title: Haber–Weiss reaction
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - Haber–Weiss reaction
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.HT06787
Status: current

Definition
The Haber–Weiss cycle consists of the following two reactions: $\ce{H2O2 + OH^{.} -> H2O + O2^{−} + H^{+}}$and$\ce{H2O2 + O2^{-} -> O2 + OH^{-} + OH^{.}}$ The second reaction achieved notoriety as a possible source of hydroxyl radicals. However, it has a negligible rate constant. It is believed that iron(III) complexes can catalyse this reaction: first, Fe(III) is reduced by superoxide, followed by oxidation by dihydrogen peroxide.

Related Terms
- Fenton reaction: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/FT06786
- oxidation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/O04362
- rate constant: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/O04322

Source
- PAC, 1997, 69, 1251. 'Glossary of terms used in bioinorganic chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1997)' on page 1277 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199769061251)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/HT06787/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/HT06787/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/HT06787/xml

Citation: Citation: 'Haber–Weiss 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.HT06787
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Accessed: 2026-07-12T13:43:16+00:00