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Category
Redox reactions
Summary
Redox (ˈrɛdɒks , ˈriːdɒks , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a decrease in the oxidation state.
There are two classes of redox reactions:
Electron-transfer – Only one (usually) electron flows from the atom being oxidized to the atom that is reduced. This type of redox reaction is often discussed in terms of redox couples and electrode potentials.
Atom transfer – An atom transfers from one substrate to another. For example, in the rusting of iron, the oxidation state of iron atoms increases as the iron converts to an oxide, and simultaneously the oxidation state of oxygen decreases as it accepts electrons released by the iron. Although oxidation reactions are commonly associated with the formation of oxides, other chemical species can serve the same function. In hydrogenation, C=C (and other) bonds are reduced by transfer of hydrogen atoms.
"Redox" is a portmanteau of the words "reduction" and "oxidation". The term "redox" was first used in 1928. The processes of oxidation and reduction occur simultaneously and cannot occur independently. In redox processes, the reductant transfers electrons to the oxidant. Thus, in the reaction, the reductant or reducing agent loses electrons and is oxidized, and the oxidant or oxidizing agent gains electrons and is reduced. The pair of an oxidizing and reducing agent that is involved in a particular reaction is called a redox pair. A redox couple is a reducing species and its corresponding oxidizing form, e.g., IronFe2+/ IronFe3+.The oxidation alone and the reduction alone are each called a half-reaction because two half-reactions always occur together to form a whole reaction.
Oxidizing agent
Oxidation originally implied a reaction with oxygen to form an oxide. Later, the term was expanded to encompass substances that accomplished chemical reactions similar to those of oxygen.
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