Oxidation Numbers

[MCracchiolo 1C]

Do elements have oxidation numbers when it's just, for example, O2 or O3?

[Wayland Leung]

Yea O2 has oxidation number of 2- for each oxygen.

[MCracchiolo 1C]

Even if the overall charge is neutral?

[aTirumalai-1I]

I think O₂ has an oxidation number of 0 because it is in its elemental form. This is the same case for other elemental forms such as H₂ or Fe.

[AnuPanneerselvam1H]

Oxidation number of an atom in a neutral compound is zero when the substance contains only one element. So O2 and O3 would have an overall charge of zero.

[Guangyu Li 2J]

The oxidation state of oxygen element such as O2, P4, S8 is zero (0).
The oxidation state of oxygen in its compounds is usually -2, except for compounds like H2O2, and Na2O2, in which the oxidation state for O is -1.

[Jessica Nunez 1I]

As mentioned, the oxidation state of oxygen as a diatomic molecule (O2) is zero. However, when oxygen is in a compound, the charge varies between -1 and -2.