What is the Oxidation Number of Chlorine

Q. What is the oxidation number of chlorine? Explain with examples?

Ans: The oxidation state, also known as the oxidation number, is the hypothetical charge that an atom would have if all of its links to other atoms were entirely ionic. It refers to how much an atom in a chemical compound has been oxidised (lost electrons). The oxidation state can theoretically be positive, negative, or zero. Although totally ionic bonds do not exist in nature, many bonds have high ionicity, making oxidation status a good predictor of charge.

In other words, The number of electrons lost or acquired by an atom of an element during compound formation is referred to as the oxidation number. The charge that an atom seems to have when forming ionic connections with other heteroatoms is described by its oxidation number. A negative oxidation state is assigned to an atom with a higher electronegativity (even if it forms a covalent connection).

Chlorine has oxidation numbers of +1,+3,+5,+7, and -1. The oxidation number (Cl2) for chlorine gas, on the other hand, is zero. In oxide forms, chlorine will have variable oxidation numbers.

In Cl2O oxidation no. of Cl is +1

In oxidation no. of Cl is +3

In Cl2O7 oxidation no. of Cl is +7

In HCl oxidation no. of Cl is -1

In NaClO oxidation number of Cl is +1

Representation of Oxidation number:

• Integers, which can be positive, zero, or negative, are commonly used to indicate oxidation states. The typical oxidation state of an element can be a fraction in some situations, such as 83 for iron in magnetite Fe3O4.

Oxidation number of other important elements:

• The tetroxoiridium(IX) cation (IrO+4) has the highest known oxidation state of +9.
• As with boron in Al3BC, the lowest oxidation state is 5.