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Answer: The total number of electrons that an atom provides or takes in order to create a chemical bond with another atom is known as the oxidation number.
When the oxidation status of an atom changes during a process, it is indicating that electrons are being transferred. An element can exist in a variety of oxidation states.
The oxidation number of hydrogen atoms is normally +1, except in metal hydrides, where it is 1, and the oxidation number of oxygen atoms is usually 2, but this is not the case in all compounds.
The oxidation number of hydrogen is +1 in hydrogen peroxide, but it is 1 when hydrogen is coupled with less electronegative substances.
Because the oxygen atom in hydrogen peroxide is more electronegative than the hydrogen atom, the oxidation number of the hydrogen atom will be +1.
We’ll now calculate the oxygen oxidation number in hydrogen peroxide. Let x be the number of oxygen atoms oxidised in hydrogen peroxide.
We know that in a neutral chemical, the total of all atoms’ oxidation numbers is zero. The oxidation number of an oxygen atom in H2O2 can be calculated by adding the oxidation numbers of all H2O2 atoms.
(x 2) + ( 1 2) =0
2x + 2 =0
x =-1
In hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the oxidation state or oxidation number of oxygen is −1.
