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Chapter 20: Oxidation-Reduction Reactions

Lesson 20.1: The Meaning of Oxidation and Reduction

- Early chemists saw oxidation only as the combining of an element with oxygen to pro-duce an
oxide.

- Not all oxidation processes that use oxygen involve burning.

- A process called reduction is the opposite of oxidation.
- Oxidation and reduction always occur simultaneously.
- A substance that undergoes oxidation gains oxygen.
- A substance that undergoes reduction loses oxygen.
- No oxidation occurs without reduction, and no reduction occurs without oxidation.
- Reactions that involve the processes of oxidation and reduction are therefore called oxidation-
reduction reactions.
- Oxidation-reduction reactions are also known as redox reactions.
- Oxidation is now defined to mean complete or partial loss of electrons or gain of oxygen.
- Reduction is now defined to mean complete or partial gain of electrons or loss of oxygen.

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- A substance that undergoes oxidation loses electrons.

- A substance that undergoes reduction gains electrons.
- The substance that loses electrons is the reducing agent.
- The substance that accepts electrons is the oxidizing agent.

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- Corrosion occurs more rapidly in the presence of salts and acids.

- The presence of salts and acids accelerates corrosion by producing conductive solutions that
make electron transfer easier.
- Not all metals corrode easily.
- Gold and platinum are called noble metals because they are very resistant to losing their
electrons by corrosion. Other metals lose electrons easily but are protected from extensive
corrosion by the oxide coating formed on their surface.

- To prevent corrosion in such cases, the metal surface may be coated with :
1- Oil.
2- Paint.
3- Plastic.
4- Or another metal.

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- As shown in Figure 20.7. These coatings exclude air and water from the surface, thus preventing
corrosion. If the coating is scratched or worn away, however, the exposed metal will begin to
corrode.
- In another method of corrosion control, one metal is "sacrificed," or allowed to corrode, to save a
second metal.
- Oxidation-reduction reactions cause corrosion.
- The copper on this building reacted with water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other substances in the
air to form a patina. This patina consists of a pale-green film of basic copper(II) carbonate.
- Patinas enhance the surface appearance of copper objects.

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