OXIDATION AND REDUCTION REACTION (REDOX REACTION)
Redox Reactions:
- Oxidation and Reduction reactions that occurs simultaneously
- Redox reactions are comprised of two parts, a reduced half and an oxidized half,
that always occur together. The reduced half gains electrons and the oxidation number
decreases, while the oxidized half loses electrons and the oxidation number increases.
Simple ways to remember this include the mnemonic devices OIL RIG, meaning
"oxidation is loss" and "reduction is gain." There is no net change in the number of
electrons in a redox reaction. Those given off in the oxidation half reaction are taken
up by another species in the reduction half reaction.
Oxidation Reduction
Loss of electron Gain of electrons
Addition of oxygen Loss of oxygen
Loss of hydrogen Addition of hydrogen
Increase in the oxidation state/ Decrease in the oxidation state/
oxidation number oxidation number
Electron Transfer Reactions
Oxidation reactions: half-reaction that involves loss of electrons
Reduction reaction: half-reaction that involves gain of electrons
Oxidizing agents: substance that accepts electrons (substance that are reduced)
Reducing agents: substances that donates electrons (substances that are oxidized)
Rules for Assigning Oxidation States:
The oxidation state (OS) of an element corresponds to the number of electrons, e-, that an
atom loses, gains, or appears to use when joining with other atoms in compounds. In
determining the oxidation state of an atom, there are seven guidelines to follow:
1. The oxidation state of an individual atom is 0.
2. The total oxidation state of all atoms in: a neutral species is 0 and in an ion is equal to
the ion charge.
3. Group 1 metals have an oxidation state of +1 and Group 2 an oxidation state of +2
4. The oxidation state of fluorine is -1 in compounds
5. Hydrogen generally has an oxidation state of +1 in compounds
6. Oxygen generally has an oxidation state of -2 in compounds
7. In binary metal compounds, Group 17 elements have an oxidation state of -1, Group
16 elements of -2, and Group 15 elements of -3.
SIMPLIFIED EXPLANATION:
Element Itself: 0
Group 1A: always +1
Group 2A: always +2
Halogens (Group 7A): usually -1, positive with oxygen
Monatomic Ion: ion charge
Hydrogen (H): +1 with non-metals, -1 with metals
Oxygen (O): usually -2, but -1 in peroxide
Fluorine (F): always -1
Sum of ON (oxidation number) for a neutral compound = 0
Sum of ON (oxidation number) for polyatomic ion = ion charge
Oxidation and Reduction in terms of Electron Transfer
This is the most commonly used definition of oxidation and reduction and most
widely applicable.
Oxidation and Reduction reactions are always interlinked. Because electrons are
neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction, oxidation and reduction always
occur in pairs, it is impossible to have one without the other. In the below
reaction Magnesium gets oxidized by losing two electrons to oxygen which gets
reduced by accepting two electrons from magnesium.
Oxidation number method:
The various steps involved in balancing a redox equation by oxidation method are
discussed here through an example.
Example: Balance the chemical equation by the oxidation number method
CuO + NH3 → Cu + N2 + H2O
Solution:
Step-1 : Write the oxidation number of each atom in the skeleton equation
Step-2 : Identify the atoms which undergo change in oxidation number.
Step-3 : Calculate the increase and decrease in oxidation number w.r.t reactant atoms.
Step-4 : Equate the increase and decrease in oxidation number on the reactant side.
Step-5 : Balance the number of Cu and N atoms on both sides of the equation.
Step-6 : Now balance H and O atoms by hit and trial method.
Ion electron method ( or half reaction method):
It is based on the Principle that the electrons lost during oxidation half reaction in a
particular redox reactions is equal to the electrons gained in the reduction half reaction.
The method is called half reaction method. The balancing is completed in the following
steps:
Example: Balance the chemical equation by ion-electron method:
Cr2O72- + Fe2+ + H+ → Cr3+ + Fe3+ + H2O
Step-1 : Write the oxidation number of each atom in the skeleton equation:
Step-2 : Find out the species
involved in the oxidation and reduction half reactions:
Step-3 : Balancing oxidation half reaction:
As oxidation number increases 1, add one e– on the product side to balance change in
O.N.
Step-4 : Balancing reduction half reaction:
The decrease in oxidation number per Cr atom is 3 and the total decrease in O.N for two
Cr atoms is 6. Therefore, add 6e– on the reactant side. In order to balance O atoms add 7
H2O molecules on the product side then balance H atoms by adding 14 H + on reactant
side.
Step-5 : Adding the two half reactions:
SOURCE:
Dusan. (2014, September 21). PPT - OXIDATION AND REDUCTION REACTIONS
PowerPoint Presentation, free download - ID:4638126. SlideServe.
https://www.slideserve.com/dusan/oxidation-and-reduction-reactions
Libretexts. (2023, August 29). Oxidation-Reduction reactions. Chemistry
LibreTexts. https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Analytical_Chemistry/
Supplemental_Modules_%28Analytical_Chemistry%29/Electrochemistry/
Redox_Chemistry/Oxidation-Reduction_Reactions
Admin. (2024, July 2). Oxidation and Reduction reactions- Definition, Reactions, Examples,
Balancing the oxidation and reduction reac. BYJUS. https://byjus.com/chemistry/oxidation-
and-reduction/
Tyler DeWitt. (2015, June 15). How to calculate oxidation Numbers Introduction [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a2ckxhfDjQ
