Oxidation states

[Nathan Tran 1B]

Hi, in the lecture Dr. Lavelle mentioned that metals in the D-block form cations with different oxidation states. Could someone elaborate on what oxidation states are? Thanks!

[Alexander Moroz 1B]

Oxidation states can also be called oxidation numbers, which are numbers assigned to elements in chemical combinations. These numbers represent the number of electrons lost if the number is positive, or gained if the number is negative, by an atom in a compound. For example, oxygen wants to gain 2 electrons to have a full outer electron shell, so it will have an oxidation number of 2 for most of its reactions.

[Sunny Hou 2I]

Hi,
Oxidation states are basically the number that describes the degree an atom can be oxidized. Oxidation means the losing of electrons, so oxidation states determine how many electrons an atom is capable of losing when forming compounds with other atoms. The d-block metals are all multivalent, which is the term given to the atoms who can lose a multiple different number of electrons to form bonds. For example, Copper have oxidation states of +1 and +2, meaning that it can either lose one or two electrons given the circumstance for bonds, making it multivalent.