Leidenfrost effect in the flash vaporization of hydrogen peroxide and water mixtures

The Leidenfrost effect, a phenomenon where a droplet levitates on a heated surface due to rapid vaporization, has been extensively studied with various liquids. However, the behavior of binary mixtures, specifically those involving hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and water, remains relatively unexplored. This study investigates such mixtures, focusing on the ejection dynamics of secondary droplets under different temperatures and solution concentrations. High-speed imaging is used to capture the evolution of droplets upon impacting a hot surface. The results reveal a significant increase in droplet fragmentation and ejection with increasing temperature and hydrogen peroxide concentration. Droplet ejection volume increased by a factor of 2.5 when the temperature was 60 °C over the Leidenfrost point, while it increased by a factor of 1.7 when comparing a solution of 10% wt. H₂O₂ up to a concentration of 50%. A comprehensive analysis of the observed phenomena is proposed. The impact of hydrogen peroxide's thermal decomposition on systems such as H₂O₂ vapor decontamination enclosures is revealed. The main difficulty in obtaining highly concentrated H₂O₂ gas is attributed to the Leidenfrost effect ejecting secondary droplets.