Chemical Reactions of Oxygen
- Combustion is one of the many types of reactions between oxygen and another element.Flame of a fire and fire wood in fireplace image by Aliaksandr Zabudzko from Fotolia.com
Oxygen is one of the most frequently-occurring elements as well as one of the most necessary to the maintaining of human life. In addition to being one of the most important elements, it is also one of the most reactive, able to bond with many other elements. Most often, the types of compounds created from the chemical reactions of oxygen are known as oxides. However, oxygen is also an important part of numerous acids, hydroxides, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils and alcohols. Becoming aware of some of the major products of oxygen reactions is a good starting point in learning more about chemistry. - Water is an oxide, known by its famous chemical notation, H2O. Water is created when one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom bond together. Water is vitally necessary to every living thing on the planet.
- Another well-known as well as vitally necessary reaction of oxygen is when carbon gets burned in oxygen to form carbon dioxide, known as CO2. Carbon dioxide is best known as the byproduct that is created when most living things breath in oxygen, as well as being what trees take in before emitting oxygen.
- Oxygen reactions often result in the creation of heat and/or light. What we know as combustion is really just the formation of an oxide at a high temperature, and is therefore a chemical reaction of oxygen. The reaction of oxygen with the hydrocarbons contained in petroleum and natural gas has become a huge source of power and heat in the modern world.
- Decay is another form of oxidation, and therefore another example of a chemical reaction with oxygen, albeit one occurring at a much slower rate. Decay is an example of many different chemical reactions with oxygen happening at once, and creates a wide variety of byproducts.
- Rust is another example of a chemical reaction with oxygen to form an oxide. Oxygen is very slow to react with inorganic materials, hence the long period of time that it takes for metal to be transformed to rust. In addition, many metal structures are treated with chemicals to slow down the material's oxygen reaction.
