Chemistry, asked by Navanshu2973, 1 year ago

Why is reaction of copper with air a redox reaction?

Answers

Answered by mahima4137
3
Hey dude!!!
A redox reaction is one where both reduction and oxidation happen simultaneously. 
Reduction is the loss of oxygen.
Oxidation is the gain of oxygen.

When copper reacts with oxygen in the presence of heat, a compound referred to as copper oxide is produced. 
The reaction for the same is as follows:
2Cu + O2 (+heat) → 2CuO

This is in no way a redox reaction since Copper merely gets oxidized to produce the copper oxide.

However, when this resulting product, CuO reacts with hydrogen, it results in the formation of copper and water, and hence, produces a classic redox reaction.
The reaction for the same is as follows:
CuO (s) + H2 (g) → Cu (s) + H2O (l)

Here, copper oxide gets reduced to copper and hydrogen gets oxidized to water. Copper acts as an oxidizing agent for hydrogen and hydrogen acts as a reducing agent for copper.

Hope this is useful for u
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