Why does potassium form a superoxide?

First of all, there's a direct relationship between the stability of a superoxide and the low electronegativity of the accompanying cation. read more

Potassium superoxide is a potent oxidizer, and can produce explosive reactions when combined with a variety of substances, including water, acids, organics, or powdered graphite. Even dry superoxide can produce an impact-sensitive explosive compound when combined with organic oils such as kerosene. read more

the larger K+,Rb+ and Cs+ ions have still weaker positive field around them which cannot prevent even peroxide ion O2(2-) to combine with another oxygen atom to form superoxide O2(-) [here 2 is the subscript and (-) is the charge on superoxide ion].. read more

Potassium superoxide is the inorganic compound with the formula KO 2. It is a yellow paramagnetic solid that decomposes in moist air. It is a rare example of a stable salt of the superoxide ion. Potassium superoxide is used as a CO 2 scrubber, H 2 O dehumidifier and O 2 generator in rebreathers, spacecraft, submarines and spacesuit life support systems. read more

If we're looking at reaction of an alkali metal with oxygen to form explosive compounds, perhaps we should look at superoxides. The superoxides are powerful oxidizing agents, and they can explode when mixed with water, acids, organics, or powdered graphite. read more