Question

What is the oxidation number of carbon in $C_3{O}_2$ (carbon suboxide )?

• A. $+4/3$
• B. $+10/4$
• C. $+2$
• D. $+2/3$

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

$+4/3$

The structure of $C_3{O}_2$ is:

$O=C=C=C=O$

assigning the oxidation number each $C$ in the molecule by considering oxidation number of $O=-2$ we get oxidation state as:

$O=\stackrel{+2}{C}=\stackrel{0}{C}=\stackrel{+2}{C}=O$
In $C_3{O}_2$ , two atoms linked with oxygen atoms are present in +2 oxidation state and central carbon has zero oxidation state. So, the average oxidation state of $C=$ $\frac{2+0+2}{3}=\frac{+4}{3}$