Answer the following: Why is fluorine gas the strongest oxidising agent while fluoride ion is the weakest reducing agent? Why is lithium ion the weakest oxidising agent while lithium metal is the most powerful reducing agent in an aqueous? Share with your friends Share 2 Vartika Jain answered this Dear Student, 1. The more negative the reduction potential, the stronger is the reducing agent. F- has low reduction potential value as it has fulfilled electronic configuration so it donot lose electron easily as it will lose its stability. So, it s a weak reducing agent. F2 readily reduces to give F-. This is due to hhigh electron affinity of fluorine. So, F2 acts as a good oxidising agent. Also, stronger the oxidising agent, weaker is its corresponding reducing agent. 2. In an aqueous solition, Li gets hydrated due to small size and high charge. Due to greater hydration energy, the low ionisation energy gets compensated and so Li acts as a good reducing agent. Now stronger the reducing agent, weaker is its corresponding oxidising agent. So, Li+ is a weaker oxidising agent. 9 View Full Answer Lakshmikiranmayi.g Gokaraju answered this fluorine can easily accept an electron, where fluoride ion cannot due to repulsions lithium can easily donate an electron, where as its ion cannot due to greater nuclear force on the valence shell 4 Vaibhav answered this In 1st group, Li has the highest ionization potential but it must be understood that ionization potential is a property of an isolated atom in gaseous state. When you deal with reducing agents in aqueous state,Li is the strongest reducing agent because the sum of sublimation, ionization and hydration energies for Li is the smallest. Since Li is smallest in size,its hydration energy is extremely high (remember that hydration energy is energy released and hence is negative). Since sum of all these energies is the smallest for Li,it is the best reducing agent . Stronger is the reducing agent the weaker will be its corresponding oxidising agent. As we know that in order to be good reducing agent it need to be efficiently oxidise itself . But fluoride ion is found to be difficult to oxidise . It is due to its small size the positive and negative ions are bought closely to each other and attraction becomes strong and comparatively gives them high lattice enthalpy . Electrode potential is a measure of tendency of an element to lose electrons from its aqueous solution . The more negative is the electrode potential the more tendency to lose electrons and hence stronger is the reducing agent . Since the standard electrode potential of alkali metals become more and more negative as we move down the group from Na to Cs therefore reducing character of these elements increases in the same order . However standard electrode potential of lithium is the lowest ie -3. 05 volts . The sublimation enthalpies of alkali metals are almost similar. Now since Li ion is smallest in size therefore the larger the amount of release of energy in heat of hydration process . compensates for higher ionisation enthalpies thereby facilitating the release of electrons . This answer is for second one . -2
