[Something]

I was working with some 3% hydrogen peroxide when I dropped a piece of copper acetate in from a previous experiment. Gas was produced and the copper acetate turned green and dissolved.  I then tried it again but with copper hydroxide-same result. Even pieces of copper in the hydrogen peroxide produced the green solid, though at much slower pace.

I already know that hydrogen peroxide is a strong catalyst and releases oxygen upon breaking down, but what I don't know is why all three of these chemicals produced the same (to me) product. It appears that the oxygen oxidized the copper the copper, but that doesn't make any sense because Copper (I) and (II) oxide are red and black respectively.

[UG]

There are complex copper ions that are green in solution, eg. Cu₄SO₄(OH)₆ and Cu₂CO₃(OH)₃

Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper(II)_chloride

[Something]

Hmm...interesting. That might to explain why the copper acetate turned green, but it doesn't seem to explain why the Cu(OH)₂ and the regular copper produced a green color as well.

Also, I didn't use an chloride compounds so I don't believe that was what was produced.

[BluRay]

The hydrogen peroxide was pure or stabilized with other chemicals?

[Something]

It is stabilized with other chemicals but it does not mention what. My chemistry teacher did bring up an interesting point that the copper compound(s) might be hydrated, I'll have to heat them up to see if they give off any water later.

[Twigg]

I hate to bring up an old topic, but I believe I got the same result as Something with CuO and CuSO4 except that in both cases I had a green solution that over time yielded a green precipitate. The product yield was too high for trace stabilizers to have been the ligands, I believe. I used 3% H2O2. The reactions with CuO is much slower, and was only partially reacted two days after mixing. Both are very endothermic and are photosensitive. I am quite stumped myself, but my guess is that it's got to be a bivalent cuprate; I'd hypothesize Cu[Cu(OH)4] or cupric tetrahydroxycuprate(II). My guess is based on the fact that every precursor Something and I have used has a particularly basic ligand.