Weak oxidizing agents

Sulfuric acid is a relatively weak oxidizing agent most often it is reduced to sulfur dioxide ... 

Explain the observation that phosphorus acts both as a weak reducing agent and as a weak oxidizing agent. 

It is oxidized by air or weak oxidizing agents, forming cobalt(III) carbonate, Co2(C03)3. It decomposes on heating, forming the oxides of cobalt with the evolution of CO2. 

In acid solution, iodine is a weak oxidizing agent. The redox potential is —0.534 V at 25°C. It readily oxidizes thiosulfate to tetrathionate ion ... 

This result shows that, in a neutral aqueous solution, the N03 ion is a relatively weak oxidizing agent. It is a common error to attempt to make an electron-transfer reaction using the NOf ion in a neutral aqueous solution you should not confuse the weak oxidizing power of the NO3 ion under these conditions with its strong oxidizing power in strong acid solution. Nitrate salts... 

On the face of the E° value alone, one would expect the compound to be a relatively powerful oxidant (Table 2.1). However, hydrogen peroxide is, in fact, a relatively weak oxidizing agent. It can achieve some oxidations unaided, e.g. it reacts slowly with substrates such as olefins, aromatic hydrocarbons, alkanes, etc., but for the majority of applications, it requires activation in some way or other. This is reflected by the fact that hydrogen peroxide has been employed for bleaching purposes for over a century1 and some activation methods such as Fenton s reagent are almost as old.2... 

Iodine is a weak oxidizing agent used primarily for the determination of strong reductants. The most accurate description of the half-reaction for iodine in these applications is... 

H (aq) is a weak oxidizing agent it can be c"(aq), once formed, is a stronger reducing agent... 

Sugars that can be oxidized by weak oxidizing agents such as Benedict s reagent are called reducing sugars (Figure 7.13). Because the reaction occurs... 

In contrast to the catalysts containing Ti that produce polymers with a broad MW distribution of 5 to 30, the compounds containing V produce polyethylene with a narrow MW distribution of 2-4. The V systems are suited to polymerization of higher a-olefins and for copolymerization. Therefore, these systems are used technically to make a rubber (EPDM type) by copolymerization of C2H4, propylene, and as diene ethylidene norbor-nene (ENB). These catalysts are initially very active because of the presence of V(III), which seems to be the active oxidation form. However, some of them lose activity by reduction after a short polymerization time. They can be reactivated by weak oxidizing agents (activator) like chlorobenzene. 

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