Question:
Find out the oxidation number of chlorine in the following compounds and arrange them in increasing order of oxidation number of chlorine.
NaClO4, NaClO3, NaClO, KClO2, Cl2O7, ClO3, Cl2O, NaCl, Cl2, ClO2
Solution:
NaClO4 x= +7
NaClO3, x= +5
NaClO, x=+1
KClO2, x= +3
Cl2O7, x= +7
ClO3, x= +6
Cl2O, x=+1
NaCl, x=-1
Cl2, x=0
ClO2, x= +4
Ascending order of compounds w.r.t their oxidation number is:
NaCl (-1), Cl2(0), Cl2O(+1), KClO2(+3), ClO2(+4), NaClO3(+5), ClO3(+6), Cl2O7=NaClO4(+7).