An oxidizing agent (also called an oxidant, oxidizer or oxidiser) can be defined as either: #a chemical compound that readily transfers electrons, or #a substance that gains electrons in a redox chemical reaction In both cases, the oxidizing agent becomes reduced in the process.
In simple terms:
In the above equation, the iron (Fe) has an oxidation number of 0 before and 3+ after the reaction. For oxygen (O) the oxidation number began as 0 and decreased to 2−. These changes can be viewed as two "half-reactions" that occur concurrently:
#Oxidation half reaction: Fe0 → Fe3+ + 3e− #Reduction half reaction: O2 + 4e− → 2 O2−
Iron (Fe) has become oxidized because its oxidation number increased and was the reducing agent because it gave electrons to the oxygen (O). Oxygen (O) has been reduced because the oxidation number has decreased and is the oxidizing agent because it took electrons from iron (Fe).
In one definition, an oxidizing agent accepts - or gains - electrons. In this context, the reducing agent is called an electron donor. A classic oxidizing agent is the ferrocenium ion [Fe(C5H5)2]+ which accepts an electron to form Fe(C5H5)2. Of great interest to chemists are the details of the electron transfer event, which can be described as inner sphere or outer sphere.
In more colloquial usage, an oxidizing agent transfers oxygen atoms to the substrate. In this context, the oxidizing agent can be called an oxygenation reagent or oxygen-atom transfer agent. Examples include [MnO4]− permanganate, [CrO4]2− chromate, OsO4 osmium tetroxide, and especially [ClO4]− perchlorate. Notice that these species are all oxides, and are in fact polyoxides. In some cases, these oxides can also serve as electron acceptors, as illustrated by the conversion of [MnO4]− to [MnO4]2−, manganate.
! Agent | ! Product(s) |
O2 oxygen | Various, including the oxides H2O and CO2 |
O3 ozone | Various, including ketones, aldehydes, and H2O; see ozonolysis |
F2 fluorine | F− |
Cl2 chlorine | Cl− |
Br2 bromine | Br− |
I2 iodine | I−, I3− |
OCl− hypochlorite | Cl−, H2O |
ClO3− chlorate | Cl−, H2O |
HNO3 nitric acid | NO nitric oxideNO2 nitrogen dioxide |
Hexavalent chromiumCrO3 chromium trioxideCrO42− chromate Cr2O72− dichromate | Cr3+, H2O |
MnO4− permanganateMnO42− manganate | Mn2+ (acidic) or MnO2 (basic) |
H2O2, other peroxides | Various, including oxides and H2O |
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