Oxidizing agent

In chemistry, an oxidizing agent (oxidant, oxidizer) is a substance that has the ability to oxidize other substances (cause them to lose electrons). Common oxidizing agents are oxygen, hydrogen peroxide and the halogens.

In one sense, an oxidizing agent is a chemical species that undergoes a chemical reaction that removes one or more electrons from another atom. In that sense, it is one component in an oxidation–reduction (redox) reaction. In the second sense, an oxidizing agent is a chemical species that transfers electronegative atoms, usually oxygen, to a substrate. Combustion, many explosives, and organic redox reactions involve atom-transfer reactions.

Electron acceptors participate in electron-transfer reactions. In this context, the oxidizing agent is called an electron acceptor and the reducing agent is called an electron donor. A classic oxidizing agent is the ferrocenium ion Fe(C
5H
5)+
2, which accepts an electron to form Fe(C₅H₅)₂. One of the strongest acceptors commercially available is "Magic blue", the radical cation derived from N(C₆H₄-4-Br)₃.

Extensive tabulations of ranking the electron accepting properties of various reagents (redox potentials) are available, see Standard electrode potential (data page).

Of great interest to chemists are the details of the electron transfer event, which can be described as inner sphere or outer sphere.

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