Oxidizing agent
Overview
Redox
Redox reactions describe all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed....
chemical reaction
Chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...
. The oxidizing agent is reduced
Redox
Redox reactions describe all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed....
and the reactant is oxidized in the process.
In simple terms:
- The oxidizing agent is reduced.
- The reducing agent is oxidized.
- All atoms in a molecule can be assigned an oxidation numberOxidation numberIn coordination chemistry, the oxidation number of a central atom in a coordination compound is the charge that it would have if all the ligands were removed along with the electron pairs that were shared with the central atom. Oxidation numbers are often confused with oxidation states.The...
. This number changes when an oxidant acts on a substrate. - Redox reactions occur when oxidation stateOxidation stateIn chemistry, the oxidation state is an indicator of the degree of oxidation of an atom in a chemical compound. The formal oxidation state is the hypothetical charge that an atom would have if all bonds to atoms of different elements were 100% ionic. Oxidation states are typically represented by...
s of the reactants change.
The formation of iron(III) oxide;
- 4Fe + 3O2 → 2Fe2O3
In the above equation, the iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
(Fe) has an oxidation number of 0 before and 3+ after the reaction.
