A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Can only metals can be oxidised and nonmetals be reduced?

Best Answers

Not at all! Oxidation and reduction can be applied to both metals AND non-metals. An easy example for a non-metal would be hydrogen. * If hydrogen reacts with a metal, like sodium, it forms sodium hydride by gaining electrons from sodium. read more

Oxidation and reduction can be applied to both metals AND non-metals. An easy example for a non-metal would be hydrogen. If hydrogen reacts with a metal, like sodium, it forms sodium hydride by gaining electrons from sodium. read more

Nonmetals have high ionization energies, so oxidation is a lot harder, it takes more energy. Nonmetals also have high electron affinity. This means that it is energetically favorable to add an electron to a nonmetal. So, nonmetals can be easily reduced. Metals tend to have low electron affinity so it is more difficult to add electrons (or reduce them). read more

Encyclopedia Research

Wikipedia: