How can an oxidation number be determined?
1 Answer
Oxidation state/number is the charge left on the central atom, when all the bonding pairs of electrons are broken with the charge assigned to the more electronegative atom.
Explanation:
Redox chemistry is conceived to occur on the basis of addition OR subtraction of electrons. Typically, an element in a compound or complex (or the element itself) is assigned an oxidation number. The sum of the oxidation numbers always equals the charge on the ion.
I will consider a few simple examples:
TO begin, elemental oxygen,
Thus for
And likewise for