April 25, 2024, 09:52:15 AM
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Topic: Why in some reactions oxygen atom is enclosed in parenthesis ? Example: (O)  (Read 2084 times)

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Offline swaroop

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Hello'
While going through my chemistry text book I came through the following reaction.
RCH2OH + (O)  :rarrow: RCHO + H2O   
In the above reaction why oxygen atom is enclosed in parenthesis ???

Offline Babcock_Hall

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I have often seen an O enclosed in brackets,
  • , used to mean an oxidation, with the oxidant unspecified.  Is your conversion an oxidation?  If so, how many electrons did the carbon atom lose?

Offline goops

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(O) stands for nascent oxygen which is highly reactive..

Offline discodermolide

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O enclosed in round or square brackets in a chemical eqiation represents an unspecified oxidising agent.
Development Chemists do it on Scale, Research Chemists just do it!
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