20050519

Where's my CRC handbook?

Can a transition metal have more than one peroxide, just as it can have more than one oxide?

Seems to me that it could. In that case, I presume that the peroxide should be treated as a radical, a covalently bonded whole that enters ionic bonds with metals. The peroxide radical simply contains two oxygens, covalently bonded together, in place of one, but bearing the same ionic charge as the oxide, all other things kept equal. Lead II oxide is PbO, so lead II peroxide would be PbO2.

But then would lead IV peroxide have two peroxide ions---would it be PbO4?

OK, then you understand my frustration with this question: given that iron III oxide is Fe2O3, would iron III peroxide be Fe2O6, or even Fe2(O2)3?