Does the conversion of hydrogen peroxide to oxygen involve oxidation or reduction? What substance is acting as the oxidizer or reducer?
and
Does the conversion of hydrogen peroxide to water involve oxidation or reduction? What substance is acting as the oxidizer or reducer?
Oxidation is the loss of electrons.
Reduction is the gain of electrons.
H2O2 ==> O2
Oxygen on the left is -1 each. O2 on right is 0.
H2O2 ==> H2O
Oxygen on the left is -1 each. O2 on the right is -2.
Raj,
DrBob222 is incorrect. His chakras are out of alignment. In the first example, it's oxidation and 02 on right is 5. In the second problem, it's reduction and oxygen on left is 8.
Raj-
In spite of my not knowing what "chakras" means (and I can't find it in the dictionary), I AM correct.
I gave the definitions of oxidation and reduction but I did not identify which process was which in the problem you gave. That is for you to determine.
Next, in the change of
H2O2 ==> O2,
oxygen on the left has a oxidation state of -1 each and on the right, oxygen is zero.
In the change
H2O2 ==> H2O,
oxygen on the left has an oxidation state of -1 each and on the right oxygen is -2 each.
Tyler is incorrect in his/her analysis and his/her oxidations states are not in the same ball park with reality.
The conversion of hydrogen peroxide to oxygen involves reduction. In this reaction, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is being converted into oxygen (O2), and the oxygen on the left side of the reaction has an oxidation state of -1 each while the oxygen on the right side has an oxidation state of 0. Since the oxidation state of oxygen decreases from -1 to 0, it is gaining electrons and undergoing reduction.
As for the substance acting as the oxidizer or reducer, in this case, hydrogen peroxide itself is acting as the oxidizer because it is providing oxygen atoms with a lower oxidation state (0) than its own (-1).
On the other hand, the conversion of hydrogen peroxide to water involves oxidation. In this reaction, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is being converted into water (H2O), and the oxygen on the left side of the reaction has an oxidation state of -1 each while the oxygen on the right side has an oxidation state of -2 each. Since the oxidation state of oxygen increases from -1 to -2, it is losing electrons and undergoing oxidation.
In this case, hydrogen peroxide is acting as the reducer because it is providing oxygen atoms with a higher oxidation state (-2) than its own (-1).