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In chemistry, the oxidation state, or oxidation number, is the hypothetical charge of an atom if all of its bonds to other atoms were fully ionic.It describes the degree of oxidation (loss of electrons) of an atom in a chemical compound.
Oxidation state is an important index to evaluate the charge distribution within molecules. [2] The most common definition of oxidation state was established by IUPAC, [3] which let the atom with higher electronegativity takes all the bonding electrons and calculated the difference between the number of electrons and protons around each atom to assign the oxidation states.
Every system has the tendency to acquire the state of stability or a state of minimum energy, and so chemical elements take part in chemical reactions to acquire a stable electronic configuration similar to that of its nearest noble gas. An example of this tendency is two hydrogen (H) atoms reacting with one oxygen (O) atom to form water (H 2 O).
The oxidation states are also maintained in articles of the elements (of course), and systematically in the table {{Infobox element/symbol-to-oxidation-state}}
An atom (or ion) whose oxidation number increases in a redox reaction is said to be oxidized (and is called a reducing agent). It is accomplished by loss of one or more electrons. The atom whose oxidation number decreases gains (receives) one or more electrons and is said to be reduced. This relation can be remembered by the following mnemonics.
A chemical state is often defined as an "oxidation state" when referring to metal cations. When referring to organic materials, a chemical state is usually defined as a chemical group, which is a group of several elements bonded together.
Superoxides are a class of compounds that are very similar to peroxides, but with just one unpaired electron for each pair of oxygen atoms (O − 2). [6] These compounds form by oxidation of alkali metals with larger ionic radii (K, Rb, Cs). For example, potassium superoxide (KO 2) is an orange-yellow solid formed when potassium reacts with oxygen.
This results in a variety of oxidation states. In the lighter elements, the +3 state is the most stable, but the +1 state becomes more prevalent with increasing atomic number, and is the most stable for thallium. [19] Boron is capable of forming compounds with lower oxidization states, of +1 or +2, and aluminium can do the same. [20]