Oxidation & Reduction

Redox reactions

• Oxidation and reduction take place together at the same time in the same
reaction
• These are called redox reactions
• Oxidation is a reaction in which oxygen is added to an element or a
compound
• Reduction is a reaction in which oxygen is removed from an element or
compound

Example redox equation: oxygen loss/gain

zinc oxide + carbon → zinc + carbon monoxide

ZnO + C → Zn + CO

•
o In this reaction, the zinc oxide has been reduced since it
has lost oxgyen
o The carbon atom has been oxidised since it has gained oxygen

Names using oxidation states

• Transition elements can bond in different ways by forming ions with different
charges
• When naming, the charge on the ion is shown by using a Roman numeral after
the element's name
o e.g. iron can form ions with a 2+ charge, called iron(II) ions or a 3+
charge, called iron(III) ions
• The Roman numeral is the oxidation state of the element
• When iron reacts with oxygen to form iron oxide, the formula depends on the
oxidation state of the iron ions
o The compound where iron has a 2+ charge has the formula FeO and is
called iron(II) oxide
o The compound where iron has a 3+ charge has the formula Fe2O3 and is
called iron(III) oxide
Redox & Electron Transfer
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Oxidation and reduction

• Redox reactions can also be defined in terms of electron transfer

• Oxidation is a reaction in which an element, ion or compound loses
electrons
o The oxidation state of the element is increased
o This can be shown in a half equation, e.g. when silver reacts with
chlorine, silver is oxidised to silver ions:

Ag → Ag+ + e-

• Reduction is a reaction in which an element, ion or compound gains

electrons
o The oxidation state of the element is decreased
o This can be shown in a half equation, e.g. when oxygen reacts with
magnesium, oxygen is reduced to oxide ions:

O2 + 4e- → 2O2-

• Oxidation and reduction in terms of electron transfer can be remembered by

the mnemonic 'OIL RIG': Oxidation Is Loss of electrons, Reduction Is Gain of
electrons

Mnemonic to remember oxidation and reduction in terms of electron transfer

Oxidation state

• The oxidation state (also called oxidation number) is a number assigned to

an atom or ion in a compound which indicates the degree of oxidation (or
reduction)
• The oxidation state helps you to keep track of the movement of electrons in a
redox process
• It is written as a +/- sign followed by a number (not to be confused with charge
which is written by a number followed by a +/- sign)
• E.g. aluminium in a compound usually has the oxidation state +3

Assigning the oxidation state

• Oxidation state refers to a single atom or ion only

• The oxidation number of a compound is 0 and of an element (for example Br
in Br2) is also 0
• The oxidation number of oxygen in a compound is always -2 (except in
peroxide R-O-O-R, where it is -1)
• For example in FeO, oxygen is -2 then Fe must have an oxidation number
of +2 as the overall oxidation number for the compound must be 0
Table to show some common oxidation states of elements within compounds

Example redox equation: electron loss/gain and oxidation state

zinc + copper sulphate → zinc sulphate + copper

Zn + CuSO4 → ZnSO4 + Cu

• Writing all of the ions present and including state symbols we get:

Zn(s) + Cu2+(aq) + SO42-(aq) →Zn2+(aq) + SO42-(aq) + Cu(s)

• The spectator ions (those that do not change) are SO42-(aq), removing these
we can write the ionic equation as:

Zn(s) + Cu2+(aq) → Zn2+(aq) + Cu(s)

• By analysing the ionic equation, we can split the reaction into two half
equations by adding in the electrons to show how the changes in charge have
occurred.
• It then becomes clear that zinc has been oxidised as its oxidation state
has increased from 0 in Zn to +2 in Zn2+ and it has lost electrons:

Zn(s) → Zn2+(aq) + 2e-

• Copper ions have been reduced as the oxidation state

has decreased from +2 in Cu2+ to 0 in Cu and they have gained electrons:

Cu2+(aq) +2e- → Cu(s)

Oxidising & Reducing Agents

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Oxidising agent

• A substance that oxidises another substance, in so doing becoming

itself reduced
• An oxidising agent gains electrons as another substance loses electrons
• Common examples include hydrogen peroxide, fluorine and chlorine

Reducing agent
 • A substance that reduces another substance, in so doing becoming
itself oxidised
• A reducing agent loses electrons as another substance gains electrons
• Common examples include carbon and hydrogen
• The process of reduction is very important in the chemical industry as a means
of extracting metals from their ores

Example

CuO + H2 → Cu + H2O

• In the above reaction, hydrogen is reducing the CuO and is itself oxidised as it
has lost electrons, so the reducing agent is therefore hydrogen:

H2 → 2H+ + 2e-

• The CuO is reduced to Cu by gaining electrons and has oxidised the

hydrogen, so the oxidising agent is therefore copper oxide

Cu2+ +2e- → Cu

Answer

Step 1 - Write half equations to work out what has gained/lost electrons

Fe → Fe2+ + 2e-

Br2 + 2e- → 2Br-

Fe loses electrons; Br2 gains electrons

Step 2 - Deduce what has been oxidised/reduced (remember OIL RIG)

Fe has been oxidised as it has lost electrons

Br2 has been reduced as it has gained electrons

Step 3 - Identify the reducing agent

Fe is the reducing agent as it has been oxidised by losing electrons and caused Br2 to be reduced
as it gained electrons
 Redox Reactions
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Identifying redox reactions

• Redox reactions can be identified by the changes in the oxidation states when a reactant goes to a
product

Example:

chlorine + potassium iodide → potassium chloride + iodine

Cl2 + 2KI → 2KCl + I2

• Chlorine has become reduced as its oxidation state has decreased from 0 to -1 on changing from
the chlorine molecule to chloride ions and it gains electrons:

Cl2(g) + 2e- → 2Cl-(aq)

• When chlorine is reduced it allows another substance to be oxidised, and so chlorine is called
an oxiding agent

• Iodine has been oxidised as its oxidation state has increased from -1 to 0 on changing from iodide
ions to the iodine molecule and it loses electrons:

2I-(aq) → I2(s) +2e-

• When iodine is oxidised it allows another substance to be reduced, and so iodine is called
a reducing agent

Identifying redox reactions by colour changes

• The tests for redox reactions involve the observation of a colour change in the solution being
analysed
• Two common examples are acidified potassium manganate(VII), and potassium iodide
• Potassium manganate(VII), KMnO4, is an oxidising agent which is often used to test for the
presence of reducing agents
• When acidified potassium manganate(VII) is added to a reducing agent its colour changes
from purple to colourless

Diagram to show the colour change when potassium manganate(VII) is added to a reducing agent

• Potassium iodide, KI, is a reducing agent which is often used to test for the presence
of oxidising agents
• When added to an acidified solution of an oxidising agent such as aqueous chlorine or hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2), the solution turns a red-brown colour due to the formation of iodine, I2:

2KI (aq) + H2SO4 (aq) + H2O2 (aq) → I2 (aq) + K2SO4 (aq) + 2H20 (l)

• The potassium iodide is oxidised as it loses electrons and hydrogen peroxide is reduced, therefore
potassium iodide is acting as a reducing agent as it will itself be oxided:

2I- → I2 + 2e-