Redox+Chemistry

﻿Redox Chemistry ﻿- Branch of chemistry dealing with electron transfer Reduction - Process during which a substance gains electrons, sometimes going from an ion of positive charge to an atom with no charge. This term is also used in metallurgy (the science of turning ores into useful metals) to describe what is being done to the metal. The term reduction actually comes from metallurgy because the ore actually gets smaller as it is being processed (//reduced// in size). Oxidation - Process during which a substance loses electrons, sometimes going from an atom of no charge to an ion of positive charge. The term oxidation also comes from metallurgy because the materials that are left over are some kind of //oxide//, that is something boud to oxygen atoms.

Reduction and oxidation are not processes that happen independently of one another, in fact, just the opposite is true. A reduction reaction needs an accompanying oxidation reaction to supply it with the electrons (electrons don't just appear out of thin air!) and likewise, an oxidation won't occur unless there is somewhere for the electrons to go (electrons can't disappear out of thin air, either!).

A simple redox reaction: ﻿ The following is a basic example of redox chemistry.

Reduction of Iron:

2Fe2O3 + 3C(s) ==> 4Fe(s) + 3CO2

The Iron (Fe) is //reduced// and the Carbon (C) is //oxidized//. This example helps show where the names came from, but redox chemistry does not mean that there is oxygen involved. For example:

Cu(2+) + Zn(s) ==> Cu(s) + Zn(2+)

Here, there is no oxygen, but the Copper (Cu) is //reduced// and the Zinc (Zn) is //oxidized//.

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