Chemical Genie in a Bottle
Description: When a stopper is removed from an opaque bottle, an increasingly vigorous cloud of white vapor emanates from the bottle. This action results from the catalytic decomposition of 30% hydrogen peroxide by manganese dioxide.
Source: ed. by Sarquis, Mickey, Sarquis Jerry. Institute of Chemical Education Fun with Chemistry: A Guidebook of k-12 Activities, Vol. 1
Year: 1991 Vol: 1 Page: 285
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide, Catalyst, Catalysis, Decomposition
Rating: 
Hazard: Medium
- Acute toxicity hazard – oral
- Inhalation hazard
- Skin corrosion hazard
- Burn hazard
- Serious eye damage
- Aquatic toxicity
- Specific organ toxicity – respiratory system
Effectiveness: Excellent
- Results are deeply engaging to audience
- Contrast between system is obvious
- Negligible failure rate
- Time to results is low
- Deep connection to course material
Difficulty: Medium
- Adding reagents in concerted or timed manipulations
- Prior training recommended
- Use of toxic reagents
- Simple procedures
Safety Precautions:
- Eye protection required
- Gloves required
- Thermal gloves recommended
- Perform on a chemically resistant surface
- Perform in a well-ventilated area
- 2.5 meter ceiling or higher
- Avoid contact with hot equipment
- Avoid exposure to dusts, mists or vapors during presentation
- Prevent release of reagents to environment
Class: Kinetics, Catalysis
Division: General
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