oxidationsstatens

The concept of oxidationsstatens, often translated as oxidation state or oxidation number, is a bookkeeping tool used in chemistry to track the hypothetical charge that an atom would have if all bonds to atoms of different elements were 100% ionic. It is a formal convention and does not represent the actual charge distribution within a molecule. Oxidation states are assigned based on a set of rules that prioritize electronegativity.

In its elemental form, an atom has an oxidation state of zero. For monatomic ions, the oxidation state is equal to the charge of the ion. When atoms are bonded in compounds, rules are applied to assign oxidation states. For example, oxygen typically has an oxidation state of -2, except in peroxides where it is -1, and when bonded to fluorine. Hydrogen usually has an oxidation state of +1 when bonded to nonmetals and -1 when bonded to metals. Fluorine always has an oxidation state of -1 in compounds.

The sum of the oxidation states of all atoms in a neutral molecule must equal zero. For a polyatomic ion, the sum of the oxidation states must equal the overall charge of the ion. Tracking oxidation states is crucial for understanding redox (reduction-oxidation) reactions, where electrons are transferred between species, leading to changes in their oxidation states. An increase in oxidation state indicates oxidation, while a decrease indicates reduction.