What is the oxidation number of chlorine atom in #HCl#, #Cl_2#, and #HClO#?

1 Answer
anor277
Jan 1, 2017

In #HCl# we have #Cl(-I)#.............

Explanation:

In #Cl_2#, #Cl(0)#, and in #HClO#, #Cl(+I)#.

The oxidation number is the charge left on the central atom when all of the bonds are removed, with the charge devolved to the most electronegative atom.

For a homonuclear diatomic molecules, each atom has EQUAL electronegativity, and the charge is assumed to be shared; i.e. #Cl_2 rarr 2xxCl*#; #HCl rarr H^+ + Cl^-#; #HClO rarr H^(+I) + Cl^(+I)+O^(+II)#.

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