Balancing redox equations through zero oxidation number method

Many high school students and first-year undergraduate students find it difficult to balance redox reactions. A method using zero oxidation number to balance redox equations is presented herein. This method may shorten the balancing time and lessen the effort. It is a helpful complement to the traditional oxidation number method and half-reaction method.

Exploring the relationships among stoichiometric coefficients, number of transferred electrons, mean oxidation number of carbons, and oxidative ratio in organic combustion reactions

Combustion reactions, stoichiometry, and redox reactions are some of the basic contents in chemistry curriculum. Although the counting of transferred electrons is critical in redox reactions, assigning mean oxidation number of organic carbons (ONc) is not always easy. Even though the relationship between the oxidative ratio (OR) and ONc is known, the relationship between the number of transferred electrons (Te−) and OR has not been thoroughly studied. The H-atom method has already been developed to balance and deduct organic combustion reactions. It can be used further to help establish the relationships among the stoichiometric coefficients (SC), the number of transferred hydrogens (TH), and Te−. This article uses the procedures of the H-atom method for balancing and deducting, and the known relationships among SC, TH, and Te− for exploring the relationships among SC, Te−, ONc, and OR in organic combustion reactions. By integrating three sets of relationships: (i) SC and Te−, (ii) Te− and ON, and (iii) SC and OR, the interconversions among SC, Te−, ONc, and OR can be mathematically formulated. Furthermore, Te−, ONc, and OR can be assigned by SC and the general molecular formula of CxHyOzXw.

Insulative Phase Formation and Polarization Resistance of PrBaCo2−xCuxO5+δ under Thermal Stress

The degradation behavior of PrBaCo2−xCuxO5+δ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5) under thermal stress was investigated in terms of phase formation and polarization resistance. The tetragonal phase was indexed in all compositions of PBCCux, and the secondary phase, BaO, was identified after thermal degradation in the crystal structure analysis. BaO formation is induced by the nature of perovskite to terminate the surface with AO layer. For pristine specimens, the oxygen vacancy peak ratio was increased from 57% to 60% according to the decrease in the average oxidation number of the B-site ion with Cu doping. After thermal deterioration, the oxidation number of B-site ions was increased, and the M = O bonding peak increased due to the decrease in oxygen vacancies and BaO formation according to the thermal stress. In all compositions, the electrical conductivity decreased from 1000 S/cm to 17 S/cm, and the polarization resistance increased approximately 200 times. These results are considered to be related to the increase in the oxidation number of B-site ions along with the formation of secondary phases.

Recent advances in the temporal and spatiotemporal dynamics induced by bromate–sulfite-based pH-oscillators

The bromate–sulfite reaction-based pH-oscillators represent one of the most useful subgroup among the chemical oscillators. They provide strong H+-pulses which can generate temporal oscillations in other systems coupled to them and they show wide variety of spatiotemporal dynamics when they are carried out in different gel reactors. Some examples are discussed. When pH-dependent chemical and physical processes are linked to a bromate–sulfite-based oscillator, rhythmic changes can appear in the concentration of some cations and anions, in the distribution of the species in a pH-sensitive stepwise complex formation, in the oxidation number of the central cation in a chelate complex, in the volume or the desorption-adsorption ability of a piece of gel. These reactions are quite suitable for generating spatiotemporal patterns in open reactors. Many reaction–diffusion phenomena, moving and stationary patterns, have been recently observed experimentally using different reactor configurations, which allow exploring the effect of different initial and boundary conditions. Here, we summarize the most relevant aspects of these experimental and numerical studies on bromate–sulfite reaction-based reaction–diffusion systems.

Physicochemical and Analytical Implications of GATES/GEB Principles

The fundamental property of electrolytic systems involved with linear combination f12 = 2∙f(O) – f(H) of elemental balances: f1 = f(H) for Y1 = H, and f2 = f(O) for Y2 = O, is presented. The dependency/independency of the f12 on Charge Balance (f0 = ChB) and other elemental and/or core balances fk = f(Yk) (k = 3,…,K) is the general criterion distinguishing between non-redox and redox systems. The f12 related to a redox system is the primary form of a Generalized Electron Balance (GEB), formulated for redox systems within the Generalized Approach to Electrolytic System (GATES) as GATES/GEB ⊂ GATES. The set of K balances f0,f12,f3,…,fK is necessary/ sufficient/needed to solve an electrolytic redox system, while the K-1 balances f0,f3,…,fK are the set applied to solve an electrolytic non-redox system. The identity (0 = 0) procedure of checking the linear independency/ dependency property of f12 within the set f0,f12,f3,…,fK (i) provides the criterion distinguishing between the redox and non-redox systems and (ii) specifies Oxidation Numbers (ONs) of elements in particular components of the system, and in the species formed in the system. Some chemical concepts, such as oxidant, reductant, oxidation number, equivalent mass, stoichiometry, perceived as derivative within GATES, are indicated. All the information is gained on the basis of the titration Ce(SO4)2 (C) + H2SO4 (C1) + CO2 (C2) ⇨ FeSO4 (C0) + H2SO4 (C01) + CO2 (C02), simulated with use of the iterative computer program MATLAB.

Chemical Formulas and Nomenclature

Chemical Formula and Nomenclature explains the rules for writing chemical formulas and naming compounds. The concept of oxidation number and how to determine it within a molecule or a polyatomic ion is described. Rules for writing and naming ionic and molecular compounds are discussed.

Oxidation and Reduction Reactions

Oxidation and Reduction Reactions deals with chemical reactions involving electron transfer. It begins with oxidation numbers and their applications in naming complex molecular or ionic compounds. Rules for assigning oxidation numbers and how to calculate the oxidation number of any atom in a compound or ion are described. Extensive coverage is given to oxidizing and reducing agents, including how to identify them in a given process. Half-cell reactions are defined. Balancing redox equations with the oxidation number method and the half-reaction method are emphasized. The chapter concludes with an overview of oxidation-reduction titration and calculations based on redox titration analysis.

New approach for assigning mean oxidation number of carbons to organonitrogen and organosulfur compounds

Organonitrogen and organosulfur compounds are abundant in the natural environment. To understand the biological redox pathways properly, it is important for learners to be able to count the oxidation number of organic carbons. However, the process of counting is not always easy. In addition, organonitrogen and organosulfur molecules are seldom studied. To compensate these problems, this paper explores the bond-dividing method, which can effectively determine the mean oxidation number of carbons of organonitrogen and organosulfur molecules. This method uses the cleavage of carbon-sulfur and carbon-nitrogen bonds to obtain the organic and inorganic fragments. The mean oxidation numbers of carbon atoms, nitrogen atoms, and sulfur atoms can be calculated by the molecular formulas of their fragments. Furthermore, when comparing organosulfur or organonitrogen molecules in a redox conversion, the changes of the mean oxidation numbers of carbon atoms, nitrogen atoms, and sulfur atoms can be used as indicators to identify the redox positions and determine the number of transferred electrons.

Kinetics, degradation mechanisms and antibiotic activity reduction of chloramphenicol in aqueous solution by UV/H2O2 process

In this study, the aim was to explore the effectiveness of the UV/H2O2 photolysis (UVP) process in terms of antimicrobial activity reduction and increasing the mean oxidation number of carbon (MONC) under the degradation of chloramphenicol (CHPL) drug. CHPL degradation kinetics and the effects of foreign anions on CHPL degradation were explored in this study. The order of the inhibition effect was found as Cl− > NO3− > HCO3− due to their different in HO• radical scavenging capacity. A pseudo-first-order model for CHPL degradation was well established, and the rate constant (kobs) was 2.93 × 10−2 min−1 (R2 = 0.98) in UVP. Thirteen intermediate products were detected in MS-chromatogram and were identified through different proposed degradation pathways. The cleavage of the amide side chain in CHPL was more effective in CHPL degradation due to an electrophilic attacks by HO. radicals on it. The inactivation rates of E. coli were decreased due to the reduction of -NO2 group into -NH2 functional group in CHPL that leads to the production of low toxic compounds on CHPL degradation.

Application of stoichiometric hydrogen atoms for balancing organic combustion reactions

Combustion is a common redox reaction, and organic combustion is one of the basic contents in chemistry curriculum. The transferred H-atom is commonly used as a redox indicator in organic chemistry and biochemistry. Nevertheless, the relationship between the number of transferred H-atoms and the number of transferred electrons has not been fully revealed. Oxidation number (ON) is an electron-counting concept. Without knowing the ONs, the number of transferred electrons cannot be counted and therefore, the redox reactions cannot be classified, defined, and balanced. This paper explores the new H-atom method for counting the number of transferred H-atoms. It provides a half-reaction approach to balance the overall organic combustion reactions. Only simple arithmetic procedures are needed to determine the number of transferred H-atoms and consequently the number of transferred electrons. According to this method, the mathematical formulas for assigning the number of transferred H-atoms can be deducted by balancing the general chemical formulas of organic compounds in half and overall organic combustions. Furthermore, the number of transferred electrons and their stoichiometric categories can be determined conveniently by any given organic chemical formula in organic combustion reactions.