Does a reducing agent in a redox reaction get oxidised or reduced?
Does a reducing agent in a redox reaction get oxidised or reduced?
An oxidation-reduction reaction is any chemical reaction in which by gaining or losing an electron the oxidation number of a molecule, atom, or ion varies. In this type of chemical reaction oxidation and reduction takes place simultaneously.
The one who gets oxidised act as reducing agent and the one who get reduced act as oxidising agent.
Example:
CuO + H2 → Cu + H2O
Copper oxide Hydrogen Copper Water
Here oxidation state of Cu in CuO is +2 and that of H in H2 is 0 at reactant side but oxidation state of Cu in Cu is 0 and that of H in H2O is +1.
So, we can say that H2 is getting oxidised since its oxidation number is increasing and CuO is getting reduced since its oxidation number is decreasing.
So here H2 is reducing agent and CuO is oxidising agent.
An oxidation-reduction reaction is any chemical reaction in which by gaining or losing an electron the oxidation number of a molecule, atom, or ion varies. In this type of chemical reaction oxidation and reduction takes place simultaneously.
The one who gets oxidised act as reducing agent and the one who get reduced act as oxidising agent.
Example:
CuO + H2 → Cu + H2O
Copper oxide Hydrogen Copper Water
Here oxidation state of Cu in CuO is +2 and that of H in H2 is 0 at reactant side but oxidation state of Cu in Cu is 0 and that of H in H2O is +1.
So, we can say that H2 is getting oxidised since its oxidation number is increasing and CuO is getting reduced since its oxidation number is decreasing.
So here H2 is reducing agent and CuO is oxidising agent.
