nandayo asked:
When you’re working out what will be oxidised and reduced in a redox reaction for electrochemistry – why is it that the substance higher up on the standard reduction potentials list will always be the substance that is oxidised. I would’ve thought that..cause it was a more active metal (like Lithium) it would have been more easily reduced…not oxidised.
Help please!
but doesn’t lithium have a charge of 1+, meaning that one electron would bring it into its lowest energy state…isn’t this what it wants? Why would it get rid of an electron (i.e easily oxidise) if it can reduce to form a lithium atom.
May 2nd, 2010 at 5:24 am
More active metals want to dump their electrons (as lithium does), so they are very easily oxidized (remember that reducing something means reducing its charge, and giving it electrons, not reducing the number of electrons on it).