Chemical Bonding - Result Question 49
####24. Give reasons in two or three sentences only for the following : “Hydrogen peroxide acts as an oxidising as well as a reducing agent.”
(1992, 1M)
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Solution:
- In hydrogen peroxide $\left(H _2 O _2\right)$, oxygen is in -1 oxidation state, can be oxidised to $O _2$ (zero oxidation state) or can be reduced to $H _2 O$ ( -2 oxidation state of oxygen).
Hence, $H _2 O _2$ can act as both oxidising agent and reducing agent. With strong oxidising agent like $KMnO _4, H _2 O _2$ acts as a reducing agent while with strong reducing agent like $H _2 C _2 O _4$, it acts as an oxidising agent.
