More recently zinc peroxide has also been used as an oxidant in explosives and pyrotechnic mixtures.

[4] According to X-ray crystallography, the compound consists of octahedral Zn(II) centers bonded to six distinct peroxide (O22-) ligands.

The structure, with intact O-O bonds, makes clear that this material is a peroxide, not a dioxide.

The treatment of burrowing ulcers in the abdominal wall with zinc peroxide was first recorded in 1933 and throughout the 1940s ZnO2 was used as a disinfectant in surgical .

[5] Zinc peroxide was, however, deemed ineffective against certain bacterial strains, such as Streptococcus viridans, staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, B. proteus, and B. pyocyoneus.