Question

Copper is an element that is used in electrical wires. What is the smallest unit of copper that still maintains the characteristics of copper?

Answer 1

By definition, for copper `Z=29.......`

Explanation:

So we could oxidize a single atom up to a multi-charged cation.........

`Cu+DeltararrCu^(29+) + 29e^-`

Of course we would need a LOT of energy to do this, and so the equation is (HIGHLY!) physically unreasonable. The ion still has `Z=29` (manifestly), and this is the smallest such copper particle.

Typical oxidation states of copper are `Cu^(+I)`, and `Cu^(+II)`, `"cuprous"` and `"cupric"` ions.