Understanding Oxidation States
* Oxidation state represents the hypothetical charge an atom would have if all its bonds were ionic.
* Rules:
* The oxidation state of elemental atoms is always 0.
* Fluorine always has an oxidation state of -1.
* The sum of oxidation states in a neutral compound is 0.
Applying the Rules
1. Fluorine (F): Since there are six fluorine atoms (F₆), the total oxidation state from fluorine is -6.
2. Platinum (Pt): The oxidation state of platinum is +6. This is because it needs to balance the -6 charge from the fluorine atoms to maintain a neutral compound.
3. Oxygen (O): Since we have two oxygen atoms (O₂) and the compound is neutral, the total oxidation state from oxygen must be +6 (to cancel out the -6 from fluorine and +6 from platinum).
* Therefore, the oxidation state of each oxygen atom is +3.
Final Answer: The oxidation state of oxygen in O₂PtF₆ is +3.
