A reducing agent (also called a reductant or reducer) is the element or compound in a redox Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed. This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane (CH4), or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body (reduction-oxidation) reaction (see electrochemistry Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies chemical reactions which take place in a solution at the interface of an electron conductor and an ionic conductor (the electrolyte), and which involve electron transfer between the electrode and the electrolyte or species in solution) that reduces another species Chemical species are atoms, molecules, molecular fragments, ions, etc., as entities being subjected to a chemical process or to a measurement. Generally, a chemical species can be defined as an ensemble of chemically identical molecular entities that can explore the same set of molecular energy levels on a characteristic or delineated time scale. In doing so, it becomes oxidized, and is therefore the electron donor An electron donor is a chemical entity that donates electrons to another compound. It is a reducing agent that, by virtue of its donating electrons, is itself oxidized in the process in the redox. For example consider the following reaction:
- [Fe(CN)6]4- + 1/2 Cl2 → [Fe(CN)6]3- + Cl-
The reducing agent in this reaction is ferrocyanide [Fe6]4− is a diamagnetic species, featuring low-spin iron(II) center in an octahedral ligand environment. Although many salts of cyanide are highly toxic, ferro- and ferricyanides are less toxic because they tend not to release free cyanide. Its most important reaction is its oxidation to ferricyanide:: it donates an electron, converting to ferricyanide Ferricyanide is the name for the anion [Fe6]3−. Its systematic name is hexacyanoferrate(III) ion. The most common salt of this anion is potassium ferricyanide, a red crystalline material that is used as an oxidant in organic chemistry, simultaneous with the reduction of chlorine Chlorine (pronounced /ˈklɔərin/, from the Greek word 'χλωρóς' , is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is a halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17 (formerly VII, VIIa, or VIIb). As the chloride ion, which is part of common salt and other compounds, it is abundant in nature and necessary to most forms of to chloride The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides.
In organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a discipline within chemistry which involves the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of chemical compounds that contain carbon. These compounds may contain any number of other elements, including hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, the halogens as well as phosphorus, silicon and, reduction more specifically refers to the addition of hydrogen to a molecule, though the aforementioned definition still applies. For example, benzene Benzene, or benzol, is an organic chemical compound and a known carcinogen with the molecular formula C6H6. It is sometimes abbreviated Ph–H. Benzene is a colorless and highly flammable liquid with a sweet smell and a relatively high melting point. Because it is a known carcinogen, its use as an additive in gasoline is now limited, but it is an is reduced to cyclohexane Cyclohexane is a cycloalkane with the molecular formula C6H12. Cyclohexane is used as a nonpolar solvent for the chemical industry, and also as a raw material for the industrial production of adipic acid and caprolactam, both of which are intermediates used in the production of nylon. On an industrial scale, cyclohexane is produced by reacting in the presence of a platinum catalyst Catalysis is the process in which the rate of a chemical reaction is either increased or decreased by means of a chemical substance known as a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. The catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations. Catalysts:
- C6H6 + 3 H2 → C6H12
In organic chemistry, good reducing agents are reagents that deliver H2.
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