Oxidation and Reduction Reaction

A type of chemical reaction that is significant to our daily lives is oxidation-reduction reactions. The term oxidation was originally used to describe reactions in which an element combines withoxygen. In contrast, reduction meant the removal of oxygen. By the turn of this century, it became apparent that oxidation always seemed to involve the loss of electrons and did not always involve oxygen. In general oxidation- reduction reactions involve the exchange of electrons between two species. An oxidation reaction is defined as the loss of electrons, while a reduction reaction is defined as the gain of electrons. The two reactions always occur together and in chemically equivalent quantities. Thus, the number of electrons lost by one species is always equal to the number of electrons gain by another species. The combination of the two reactions is known as a redox reaction. Species that participate in redox reactions are described as either reducing or oxidizing agents. An oxidizing agent is a species that causes the oxidation of another species. The oxidizing agent accomplishes this by accepting electrons in a reaction. A reducing agent causes the reduction of another species by donating electrons to the reaction. Many common redox reactions involve metal species in solution, for example: Zn(s) + Cu2+(aq) Zn2+(aq) + Cu(s) The metal, zinc(Zn), is converted (oxidized) to zinc ions (Zn2+) by the loss of two electrons, while the copper ion (Cu2+) is reduced to copper metal (Cu) by the gain of two electrons. The oxidizing agent in this reaction is the copper ions that accept two electrons from zinc, causing zinc to be oxidized. The reducing agent in the reaction is zinc that is oxidized by donating two electrons to the copper ions. The above reaction can be separated into two separate reactions called half reactions, one for oxidation and one for reduction. Zn(s) Zn2+(aq) + 2e- (oxidation half reaction) Cu2+(aq) + 2eCu(s) (reduction half reaction). When the two reactions are combined into a single redox equation, the electrons canceled each other out. So while electrons are shown in the individual half reactions, the electron transfer is implied in the redox reaction. Oxygen-atom transfer Carbon reacts with mercury (II) oxide (a compound in which mercury has a bonding capacity expressed as +2; see below Oxidation-state change) to produce carbon dioxide and mercury metal. This reaction can be written in equation form:

Carbon, receiving oxygen, is oxidized; mercury (II) oxide, losing oxygen, undergoes the complementary reduction; and the net change is the transfer of two oxygen atoms from mercury (II) oxide units to a carbon atom.

Hydrogen-atom transfer Hydrogen atoms are transferred from hydrazine, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, to oxygen in the following reaction:

Hydrazine, losing hydrogen, is oxidized to molecular nitrogen, while oxygen, gaining hydrogen, is reduced to water. Oxidation reactions are important in many reactions that keep our bodies going. But oxidation has also been blamed for aging, cancer, hardening of the arteries, and rheumatoid arthritis. Research is being done to evaluate the benefits of antioxidants in foods and dietary supplements. Antioxidants are natural reducing agents such as fat soluble vitamin E and vitamin C (ascorbic acid). These substances might inhibit damaging byproducts of oxidation reactions that can occur in the human body after exposure to some toxic chemicals. One concern that scientists studying antioxidants have is that substances do not always act the same way in the human body that they do outside of it. For example, vitamin C is a reducing agent. If lemon juice is squirted on a cut apple, the vitamin C in the juice will prevent the browning of the apple that is caused by oxidation of the apple by the air. However, vitamin C might act as an oxidizing agent in the body. Key Terms Combustion -An oxidation-reduction reaction that occurs so rapidly that noticeable heat and light are produced. Corrosion- A reaction in which a metal is oxidized and oxygen is reduced, usually in the presence of moisture. Oxidation- A process in which a chemical substance, loses electrons and undergoes an increase in oxidation number. Reduction- The process by which an atom's oxidation state is decreased, by its gaining one or more electrons.