Chlorine reacts with oxygen to form Cl₂O₇ . (d) If the oxygen in Cl₂O₇ is considered to have the -2 oxidation state, what is the oxidation state of the Cl? What is the electron configuration of Cl in this oxidation state?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the oxidation state of oxygen in Cl2O7, which is given as -2.
2. Let the oxidation state of chlorine be x. Since there are two chlorine atoms, the total contribution from chlorine is 2x.
3. Set up the equation based on the sum of oxidation states in a neutral compound: 2x + 7(-2) = 0.
4. Solve the equation for x to find the oxidation state of chlorine.
5. Determine the electron configuration of chlorine in this oxidation state by considering the loss of electrons from its ground state configuration, [Ne] 3s^2 3p^5.

Key Concepts

Oxidation States

Oxidation states indicate the degree of oxidation of an atom in a compound. They are assigned based on a set of rules, such as the oxidation state of oxygen is typically -2 in compounds. In Cl2O7, if oxygen is -2, the total contribution from the seven oxygen atoms is -14, which helps determine the oxidation state of chlorine.

Balancing Oxidation States

To find the oxidation state of chlorine in Cl2O7, the sum of the oxidation states must equal the overall charge of the molecule, which is neutral (0). Given that there are two chlorine atoms, we can set up the equation: 2x + (-14) = 0, where x is the oxidation state of Cl. Solving this gives the oxidation state of Cl as +7.

Electron Configuration

The electron configuration of an element describes the distribution of its electrons among the various orbitals. For chlorine in the +7 oxidation state, it loses seven electrons from its neutral state (1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁵), resulting in a configuration of 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p³, indicating that it has a stable noble gas configuration with a filled outer shell.