Abstract
This paper considers the role played by dissolved cobaltous ions in concentrated alkaline solutions in the homogeneous decomposition of 
and its significance to oxygen reduction in alkaline media. Dissolved cobaltous ions, in the form of 
in concentrated alkaline solutions, show a very high catalytic activity for the decomposition of 
even at a concentration of 1 ppm. The homogeneous decomposition of peroxide is not a simple first‐order reaction as reported in literature but is a 1.2 order reaction. It is suggested that kinetics of decomposition of 
in the presence of 
is controlled by the homogeneous catalytic reaction of the 
ions, the heterogeneous redox reaction between 
ions in solution, and the Co3+ ions in the cobalt oxide spinel lattice sites.