Question

While carbon is unique reducing agent for metal oxides,it is a poor reducing agent for chlorides?

Answer 1

reducing agent (also called a reductant orreducer) is an element (such as calcium) or compound that loses (or "donates") anelectron to another chemical species in aredox chemical reaction. Since the reducing agent is losing electrons , it is said to have been oxidized.

If any chemical is an electron donor (reducing agent), another must be an electron recipient (oxidizing agent). A reducing agent is oxidized because it loses electrons in the redox reaction.

Thus, reducers (reducing agents) "reduce" (or, seen another way, are "oxidized" by) oxidizers (oxidizing agents), and oxidizers "oxidize" (that is, are "reduced" by) reducers.

In their pre-reaction states, reducers have more electrons (that is, they are by themselves reduced) and oxidizers have fewer electrons (that is, they are by themselves oxidized). A reducing agent typically is in one of its lower possibleoxidation states and is known as the electron donor. Examples of reducing agents include the earth metals, formic acid, and sulfitecompounds.

For example, consider the overall reaction for aerobic cellular respiration:

C6H12O6(s) + 6O2(g) → 6CO2(g) + 6H2O(l)

The oxygen (O2) is being reduced, so it is the oxidizing agent. The glucose (C6H12O6) is being oxidized, so it is the reducing agent.