# Hydorgen peroxide and potassium permanganate
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydorgen-peroxide-and-potassium-permanganate/601488
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 1, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydorgen-peroxide-and-potassium-permanganate/601488 "2011-11-01T14:13:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)
#### Post date: [November 1, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydorgen-peroxide-and-potassium-permanganate/601488/1 "2011-11-01T14:13:19Z")
Just academic curiosity, it has been a long time since I studied chemistry.
When one mixes dilute solutions of oxidants does one reduce the other?
I’ve potassium permanganate among my aquarium supplies and hydrogen peroxide in my bathroom medicine cabinet. Both are oxidants, right? Should I mix them would one reduce the other?
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### Author:  [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)
#### Post date: [November 1, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydorgen-peroxide-and-potassium-permanganate/601488/2 "2011-11-01T14:46:52Z")
If you search google for potassium permanganate H2O2 you get dozens of videos showing the reaction. Start [here](http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=potassium+permanganate+H2O2&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8).
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### Author:  [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)
#### Post date: [November 1, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydorgen-peroxide-and-potassium-permanganate/601488/3 "2011-11-01T14:56:36Z")
The stronger oxidant, permanganate, can oxidise the peroxide (to O2) in acidic conditions. As picunurse’s link shows, it’s a vigorous reaction that I wouldn’t be in a hurry to replicate at home.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [November 1, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydorgen-peroxide-and-potassium-permanganate/601488/4 "2011-11-01T17:18:30Z")
Hydrogen peroxide is both a mild oxidizer and a mild reductor. When facing permanganate, which is one of the strongest oxidizers out there, it completely forgets about any oxidizing properties it might have and reduces like nobody’s business.
Sort of like a street thug suddenly realizing that thin guy is that cop people call Dirty Harry, yanow?
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### Author:  [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydorgen-peroxide-and-potassium-permanganate/601488/5 "2011-11-02T19:16:40Z")
> [@picunurse](#):
>
> If you search google for potassium permanganate H2O2 you get dozens of videos showing the reaction. Start [here](http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=potassium+permanganate+H2O2&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8).
Most interesting. I had worked with concentrated hydrogen peroxide in my student days and knew it would result in some vigorous reactions. When I made the OP I was thinking of the very dilute solutions. Do very dilute hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate result in the same chemical reactions?