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Chem Oxidation

An oxidation–reduction or redox reaction is a reaction that involves the transfer of electrons between chemical species. During a redox reaction, some species undergo oxidation, or the loss of electrons, while others undergo reduction, or the gain of electrons. To help identify redox reactions, chemists developed the concept of oxidation numbers, which provides a way to track electrons before and after a reaction by assigning imaginary charges to atoms in compounds and ions. Oxidation numbers follow guidelines such as metals having positive numbers while nonmetals have negative numbers.

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32 views3 pages

Chem Oxidation

An oxidation–reduction or redox reaction is a reaction that involves the transfer of electrons between chemical species. During a redox reaction, some species undergo oxidation, or the loss of electrons, while others undergo reduction, or the gain of electrons. To help identify redox reactions, chemists developed the concept of oxidation numbers, which provides a way to track electrons before and after a reaction by assigning imaginary charges to atoms in compounds and ions. Oxidation numbers follow guidelines such as metals having positive numbers while nonmetals have negative numbers.

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Anita Kapadia
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An oxidation–reduction or redox reaction is a reaction that involves the

transfer of electrons between chemical species (the atoms, ions, or


molecules involved in the reaction). Redox reactions are all around us: the
burning of fuels, the corrosion of metals, and even the processes of
photosynthesis and cellular respiration involve oxidation and reduction.
Some examples of common redox reactions are shown below.
CH4(g)+2 O2(g)→CO2(g)+2 H2O(g)(combustion of methane)CHX4(g)
+2OX2(g)→COX2(g)+2HX2O(g)(combustion of methane)
2 Cu(s)+O2(g)→2 CuO(s)(oxidation of copper)2Cu(s)+OX2(g)→2CuO(s)
(oxidation of copper)
6 CO2(g)+6 H2O(l)→C6H12O6(s)+6 O2(g)(photosynthesis)6COX2(g)
+6HX2O(l)→CX6HX12OX6(s)+6OX2(g)(photosynthesis)
During a redox reaction, some species undergo oxidation, or the loss of
electrons, while others undergo reduction, or the gain of electrons. For
example, consider the reaction between iron and oxygen to form rust:
4 Fe(s)+3 O2(g)→2 Fe2O3(s)(rusting of iron)4Fe(s)+3OX2(g)→2FeX2OX3(s)
(rusting of iron)
In this reaction, neutral FeFe loses electrons to form Fe3+FeX3+ ions and
neutral O2OX2gains electrons to form O2−OX2− ions. In other words, iron
is oxidized and oxygen is reduced. Importantly, oxidation and reduction
don’t occur only between metals and nonmetals. Electrons can also move
between nonmetals, as indicated by the combustion and photosynthesis
examples above.

Oxidation numbers
How can we determine if a particular reaction is a redox reaction? In some
cases, it is possible to tell by visual inspection. For example, we could
have determined that the rusting of iron is a redox process by simply
noting that it involves the formation of ions (Fe3+FeX3+ and O2−OX2−)
from free elements (FeFe and O2OX2). In other cases, however, it is not as
obvious, particularly when the reaction in question involves only nonmetal
substances.
To help identify these less obvious redox reactions, chemists have
developed the concept of oxidation numbers, which provides a way to
track electrons before and after a reaction. An atom’s oxidation
number (or oxidation state) is the imaginary charge that the atom would
have if all of the bonds to the atom were completely ionic. Oxidation
numbers can be assigned to the atoms in a reaction using the following
guidelines:
1. An atom of a free element has an oxidation number of 000. For
example, each ClCl atom in Cl2ClX2 has an oxidation number
of 000. The same is true for each HH atom in H2HX2, each SS atom
in S8SX8, and so on.
2. A monatomic ion has an oxidation number equal to its charge. For
example, the oxidation number of Cu2+CuX2+ is +2+2plus, 2, and
the oxidation number of Br−BrX− is −1−1minus, 1.
3. When combined with other elements, alkali metals (Group 1A1A1,
start text, A, end text) always have an oxidation number
of +1+1plus, 1, while alkaline earth metals (Group 2A2A2, start
text, A, end text) always have an oxidation number of +2+2plus, 2.
4. Fluorine has an oxidation number of −1−1minus, 1 in all
compounds.
5. Hydrogen has an oxidation number of +1+1plus, 1 in most
compounds. The major exception is when hydrogen is combined
with metals, as in NaHNaH or LiAlH4LiAlHX4. In these cases, the
oxidation number of hydrogen is −1−1minus, 1.
6. Oxygen has an oxidation number of −2−2minus, 2 in most
compounds. The major exception is in peroxides (compounds
containing O22−OX2X2−), where oxygen has an oxidation number
of −1−1minus, 1. Examples of common peroxides include H2O2HX2
OX2and Na2O2NaX2OX2.
7. The other halogens (ClCl, BrBr, and II) have an oxidation number
of −1−1minus, 1 in compounds, unless combined with oxygen or
fluorine. For example, the oxidation number of ClCl in the
ion ClO4−ClOX4X− is +7+7plus, 7 (since OO has an oxidation
number of −2−2minus, 2 and the overall charge on the ion
is −1−1minus, 1).
8. The sum of the oxidation numbers for all atoms in a neutral
compound is equal to zero, while the sum for all atoms in a
polyatomic ion is equal to the charge on the ion. Consider the
polyatomic ion NO3−NOX3X−. Each OO atom has an oxidation
number of −2−2minus, 2 (for a total of −2×3=−6−2×3=−6minus, 2,
times, 3, equals, minus, 6). Since the overall charge on the ion
is −1−1minus, 1, the oxidation number of the NN atom must
be +5+5plus, 5.
One thing to note is that oxidation numbers are written with the sign (+
+plus or −−minus) before the number.
This is in contrast to the charges on ions, which are written with the
sign after the number. Now, let’s see some examples of assigning
oxidation numbers!

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