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Q: Why do diluted sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide etch copper only when chloride ions are present?
I've mixed 30ml 10% sulfuric acid with 20ml 3% hydrogen peroxide and put a drop of this solution onto copper foil. The solution quickly removed the oxide layer from the copper but did not dissolve it any further within the hour that I left the drop on the copper. When I wiped the solution off wit...