Organic Chemistry Examples of Redox Reactions

When dealing with carbon atoms, oxidations and reductions are often easy to recognize without calculating oxidation numbers. Any reaction that increases the number of C-O bonds (while decreasing the number of C-H or C-C bonds) is described as an oxidation. Any reaction that decreases the number of C-O bonds (while also increasing the number of C-H or C-C bonds) is described as a reduction. Since stable carbon atoms contain four bonds, an example of the most oxidized state of carbon can be found in CO2 (product 

Introduction to Strategies for Organic Synthesis, First Edition. Laurie S. Starkey. 2012 John Wiley Sons, Inc. Published 2012 by John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

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