The reduction of palladium oxide nanoparticles in the presence of hydrogen peroxide or dissolved oxygen gives rise to a catalytic reduction current dependent on the hydrogen peroxide concentration or the oxygen concentration. Using terephthalic acid as an OH radical scavenger yielding the fluorescent 2-hydroxyterephthalic acid, we demonstrate that the catalytic current stems from the freshly exposed palladium metal re-oxidation by CH radicals. A kinetic model is presented to account for these catalytic reactions. We also demonstrate that the measurement of the catalytic reduction current in the presence of antioxidant molecules can be used to measure the OH scavenging properties of antioxidants. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.