Which is the best reducing agent?

[Jake36]

This is bootcamp question I'm slightly confused about,

Which is the best reducing agent?

Cl(-)
IO3(-)
Zn (2+)
Cl2
F2


The last two answer choices are the diatomic versions of Chlorine and Fluorine, no charge. Sorry I can't find the subscripts/superscript option on this. In he first three choices the parenthesis has the charge of the ion.

The answer was Cl-

Now my reasoning was that Cl- has the same electron ground configuration state has Argon, which ends with 2p6, the subshells are completely filled and no electron would wanna leave, Argon is a noble gas and from what I know this group does not like giving electrons away, hence Cl- would not be a good reducing agent because its octet is full.

Zn (2+) would be the same ground state as Nickel, its ground state configuration would end in d8, which is not full, also they are usually cations which lose electrons so ---> reducing agent.


Can someone explain why Cl- is the best reducing agent here? Also if I went wrong about solving this problem with the stuff I wrote, please let me know, my exam is in a week haha.

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[Minion]

The diatomic atoms are meant to stay at 0. Because the half reactions would be something like this, Cl2 -> 1e- + Cl2+, you see that would be weird. That goes same for Zn2+, if it is oxidized then it will be Zn3+.

So now you are locked into two answers left, a good reducing agent (able to lose electrons, which you are correct here), meaning that have a lower ionization energy (the energy require you to take away an electron) and has to be the least electronegative. Looking at the electrons that are able to be lost are the oxygens connected to I, and chlorine.

In this case, chlorine is less electronegative, so it wins. I hope this helps !