Which atom is oxidized in the reaction of benzhydrol with bleach?

Which atom is oxidized in the reaction of benzhydrol with bleach?

Explanation:

n this experiment, students will perform a simple oxidation reaction of a secondary

alcohol. Recall that Oxidation Is a Loss of electrons while Reduction Is a Gain of electrons (OIL

RIG). In order to apply this mnemonic, you must know the oxidation states of each atom within

the compound, with particular interest on carbon. Carbon can carry oxidation states ranging

from -4 to +4. A few examples are shown in Figure 1 below. It is also common for carbon to

carry an oxidation state of -3, -1, +1, and +3.

Figure 1. Examples of carbon’s oxidation levels.

You may have noticed that all of the compounds in Figure 1 are neutral and carbon has

zero formal charge in each example. The concept of oxidation state and formal charge are

similar with one important difference in the calculation. Both are calculated by taking the

difference between the valence electrons (from the periodic table) and the number of electrons

belonging to that atom within the molecule. For a given atom, the valence electrons will never

change but the electrons ‘belonging’ the atom in the molecule will vary depending on number of

lone pairs and attachments to more or less electronegative atoms. The important difference in

the calculation of oxidation states and formal charge is based on the following assignment of

bonding electrons (Figure 2). This is how the highlighted carbon in ethanol can have an

oxidation state of -1 but a formal charge of zero.

- Oxidation states assign bonding electrons to the more electronegative atom in a bond,

except when the two atoms are the same and the bonding electrons are split equally.

so the reaction would probably would be a chemical reaction

"When benzophenone reduces to diphenylmethanol, leftover products include the CH2OH and NaBH3 species. The energetic CH2OH and NaBH3 quickly bond to give (CH2OH)H3B-Na+. This complex is the main second product of benzophenone reduction."

Reactant Ratios

"In life, four benzophenone molecules react with each BH4 complex. Since four benzophenone molecules each attract a hydrogen atom from the “BH4” hydrogen donor, four “CH2OH”s bond with each boron (B) atom. Realistically, the secondary product is (CH2OH)4B-Na+ and four diphenylmethanol molecules. Focusing on one benzophenone molecule at a time is helpful for explaining and understanding reaction steps."

i hope it helps

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