[Alanhimself]

Hi i am trying to understand how oxidation works and would like help.

I can do text book questions fine but im wondering when does a oxidation agent stop oxiding a metal before it reaches its highest oxidation state. For example Co hexamine in H2O2 oxidises to its +3 coordination compound why not to +4? Or if it was just Co not in a compound, why doesnt the H2O2 oxidise it to +4?

Im thinking the strength of the oxidation agent is not greater than Co in removing the electron from it.

I tried looking for numbers online to figure out what agents could be used to oxidise what element beyond its common oxidation states but couldnt find any can anyone suggest a location? So far for the cobalt example i figured if an element like F2 is a better oxdising agent then Co3+ on a relative strengths chart it will be able to oxidise Co3+ to Co4+

Finally for cobalt again how could one oxidise it to +4 or +5?
I was asked to provide a solution to this question yesterday an couldnt and it is still bugging me. Help would be appreciated thanks!

[Borek]

This is about reduction oxidation potentials - to oxidize something you need oxidizer strong enough. Potentials you can check in tables (like here). When there is no reduction potential in the table you can try to estimate it using a variant of Born-Haber cycle.