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ashwinnarayan
- 18
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Homework Statement
[itex]MnO_4^{-} + 8H^{+} + 5e^{-} \rightleftharpoons Mn^{2+} + 4H_2O[/itex]
1. Explain why the presence of an acid is necessary for aqueous permanganate ions to function as an oxidizing agent.
2. Give two reasons for the aqueous permanganate ions acting as an oxidizing agent in acidic solutions.
The Attempt at a Solution
The only thing I can think about is the similarity between this reaction and the Iodine-peroxodisulphate reaction where the repulsion between the negative ions prevents fast reaction unless positively charged [itex] Fe^{3+} [/itex] are present to catalyze the reaction.
So my guess is that since permanganate ions are negatively charged and ions that need to be oxidized like [itex] Cl^{-} [/itex] are negatively charged they repel each other. So a positive ion - the [itex] H^{+} [/itex] ion is needed to make the reaction happen.
I know this explanation is not perfect because permanganate ions also oxidize ions like [itex] Fe^{2+} [/itex].
So any ideas?
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