What happens to iron when iron oxide becomes elemental iron?

The appropriate response is Reduction. It is a chemical reaction that includes the picking up of electrons. It alludes to the side that acknowledges electrons. At the point when iron responds with oxygen, it frames a concoction called rust. In that case, the iron is oxidized and the oxygen is lessened.

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Annainn Annainn · Answer 2 · 2019-05-14T14:44:29+02:00

Answer:

Iron gets reduced from a +3 oxidation state to 0

Explanation:

The decomposition of iron oxide to elemental can be represented by the following equation:

[tex]2Fe_{2} O_{3} (s)------ 4Fe(s) + 3O_{2} (g)[/tex]

In iron oxide (Fe2O3), the oxidation state of iron is +3 while that of oxygen is -2. Therefore, the above reaction is a redox (reduction oxidation reaction).

Here, iron in iron oxide gains 3 electrons and gets reduced from Fe3+ to Fe(0). Whereas, the oxygen loses 2 electrons and gets reduced from O2- to O(0).

The half reactions can be represented as:

Reduction:

[tex]Fe^{3+} + 3e- ------- Fe[/tex]

Oxidation:

[tex]O^{2-} -------O + 2e-[/tex]