Oxide

An oxide /ˈɒksaɪd/ is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. 'Oxide' itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– atom. Metal oxides thus typically contain an anion of oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the Earth's crust consists of solid oxides, the result of elements being oxidized by the oxygen in air or in water. Hydrocarbon combustion affords the two principal carbon oxides: carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Even materials considered pure elements often develop an oxide coating. For example, aluminium foil develops a thin skin of Al2O3 (called a passivation layer) that protects the foil from further corrosion. Individual elements can often form multiple oxides, each containing different amounts of the element and oxygen. In some cases these are distinguished by specifying the number of atoms as in carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and in other cases by specifying the element's oxidation number, as in iron(II) oxide and iron(III) oxide. Certain elements can form many different oxides, such as those of nitrogen. other examples are silicon, iron, titanium, and aluminium oxides.Carbon dioxide is the main product of fossil fuel combustion.Carbon monoxide is the product of the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels and a precursor to many useful chemicals.Nitrogen dioxide is a problematic pollutant from internal combustion engines.Sulfur dioxide, the principal oxide of sulfur, is emitted from volcanoes.Nitrous oxide ('laughing gas') is a potent greenhouse gas produced by soil bacteria. An oxide /ˈɒksaɪd/ is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. 'Oxide' itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– atom. Metal oxides thus typically contain an anion of oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the Earth's crust consists of solid oxides, the result of elements being oxidized by the oxygen in air or in water. Hydrocarbon combustion affords the two principal carbon oxides: carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Even materials considered pure elements often develop an oxide coating. For example, aluminium foil develops a thin skin of Al2O3 (called a passivation layer) that protects the foil from further corrosion. Individual elements can often form multiple oxides, each containing different amounts of the element and oxygen. In some cases these are distinguished by specifying the number of atoms as in carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and in other cases by specifying the element's oxidation number, as in iron(II) oxide and iron(III) oxide. Certain elements can form many different oxides, such as those of nitrogen. other examples are silicon, iron, titanium, and aluminium oxides. Due to its electronegativity, oxygen forms stable chemical bonds with almost all elements to give the corresponding oxides. Noble metals (such as gold or platinum) are prized because they resist direct chemical combination with oxygen, and substances like gold(III) oxide must be generated by indirect routes. Two independent pathways for corrosion of elements are hydrolysis and oxidation by oxygen. The combination of water and oxygen is even more corrosive. Virtually all elements burn in an atmosphere of oxygen or an oxygen-rich environment. In the presence of water and oxygen (or simply air), some elements— sodium—react rapidly, to give the hydroxides. In part, for this reason, alkali and alkaline earth metals are not found in nature in their metallic, i.e., native, form. Cesium is so reactive with oxygen that it is used as a getter in vacuum tubes, and solutions of potassium and sodium, so-called NaK are used to deoxygenate and dehydrate some organic solvents. The surface of most metals consists of oxides and hydroxides in the presence of air. A well-known example is aluminium foil, which is coated with a thin film of aluminium oxide that passivates the metal, slowing further corrosion. The aluminum oxide layer can be built to greater thickness by the process of electrolytic anodizing. Though solid magnesium and aluminum react slowly with oxygen at STP—they, like most metals, burn in air, generating very high temperatures. Finely grained powders of most metals can be dangerously explosive in air. Consequently, they are often used in solid-fuel rockets. In dry oxygen, iron readily forms iron(II) oxide, but the formation of the hydrated ferric oxides, Fe2O3−x(OH)2x, that mainly comprise rust, typically requires oxygen and water. Free oxygen production by photosynthetic bacteria some 3.5 billion years ago precipitated iron out of solution in the oceans as Fe2O3 in the economically important iron ore hematite. Oxides have a range of different structures, from individual molecules to polymeric and crystalline structures. At standard conditions, oxides may range from solids to gases. Oxides of most metals adopt polymeric structures. The oxide typically links three metal atoms (e.g., rutile structure) or six metal atoms (carborundum or rock salt structures). Because the M-O bonds are typically strong and these compounds are crosslinked polymers, the solids tend to be insoluble in solvents, though they are attacked by acids and bases. The formulas are often deceptively simple. Many are nonstoichiometric compounds. Although most metal oxides are polymeric, some oxides are molecules. Examples of molecular oxides are carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. All simple oxides of nitrogen are molecular, e.g., NO, N2O, NO2 and N2O4. Phosphorus pentoxide is a more complex molecular oxide with a deceptive name, the real formula being P4O10. Some polymeric oxides depolymerize when heated to give molecules, examples being selenium dioxide and sulfur trioxide. Tetroxides are rare. The more common examples: ruthenium tetroxide, osmium tetroxide, and xenon tetroxide. Many oxyanions are known, such as polyphosphates and polyoxometalates. Oxycations are rarer, some examples being nitrosonium (NO+), vanadyl (VO2+), and uranyl (UO2+2). Of course many compounds are known with both oxides and other groups. In organic chemistry, these include ketones and many related carbonyl compounds. For the transition metals, many oxo complexes are known as well as oxyhalides.