Optical Techniques for Determination and Sensing of Hydrogen Peroxide in Industrial and Environmental Samples

Hydrogen peroxide (HP) has undergone somewhat of a rebirth in chemical industry circles over the last decade. The rather glib explanation for such a renaissance is that regulatory forces compelled the chemical industry to reduce, and in some instances to eliminate, environmental pollution. Since industry has learned to employ HP in a safer, more efficient and innovative manner, it can substitute many environmentally hazardous chemicals in an environmentally protective way. The most important applications of HP in industrial processes are summarized in Fig. 1 [1–4].