OXIDATIONREDUCTION REACTION

also called redox reaction any chemical reaction in which the oxidation number of a participating chemical species changes. The term covers a large and diverse body of processes. Many oxidationreduction reactions are as common and familiar as fire, the rusting and dissolution of metals, the browning of fruit, and respiration and photosynthesisbasic life functions. Additional reading Eduard Farber, Oxygen and Oxidation Theories and Techniques in the 19th Century and the First Part of the 20th (1967), presents a short history of oxidation concepts. F. Albert Cotton and Geoffrey Wilkinson, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, 5th ed. (1988), a comprehensive reference work, contains examples of inorganic redox reactions. Kenneth L. Rinehart, Jr., Oxidation and Reduction of Organic Compounds (1973), provides information on organic reactions. Wendell M. Latimer, The Oxidation States of the Elements and Their Potentials in Aqueous Solutions, 2nd ed. (1952), surveys the redox behaviour of the elements with an emphasis on half-reaction potentials. W. Mansfield Clark, Oxidation-Reduction Potentials of Organic Systems (1960, reissued 1972), emphasizes biologically important reactions. Linus Pauling, The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals, 3rd ed. (1960, reissued 1989), contains a detailed treatment of electronegativities. Ross Stewart, Oxidation Mechanisms (1964), is a concise monograph on organic oxidation-reduction mechanisms; while inorganic mechanisms are treated by Graham Lappin, Redox Mechanisms in Inorganic Chemistry (1994). Oxidation-reduction reactions brought about by absorption of light are discussed in Lennart Eberson, Electron Transfer Reactions in Organic Chemistry (1987); Marye Anne Fox and Michel Chanon (eds.), Photoinduced Electron Transfer, 4 vol. (1988); and in two parts of the Topics in Current Chemistry series: Electron Transfer (irregular); and Photoinduced Electron Transfer (irregular). Eugene Rabinowitch and Govindjee, Photosynthesis (1969), includes a good overview of the global redox cycle of respiration and photosynthesis. Other studies of photosynthesis are Govindjee (ed.), Photosynthesis, 2 vol. (1982); and Christine H. Foyer, Photosynthesis (1984). G. Scott (ed.), Atmospheric Oxidation and Antioxidants, 3 vol. (1993), presents atmospheric examples. Maynard V. Olson The Editors of the Encyclopdia BritannicaJoshua C. Gregory, Combustion from Heracleitos to Lavoisier (1934), recounts the history of combustion science to the 18th century; while William A. Bone and Donald T.A. Townend, Flame and Combustion in Gases (1927), covers the period from the late 17th century to the early 20th century. Wilhelm Jost, Explosion and Combustion Processes in Gases (1946; originally published in German, 1939), reviews the main theoretical and experimental research on various problems of combustion and explosions. R.M. Fristrom and A.A. Westenberg, Flame Structure (1965), contains a general review and critical treatment of experimental and theoretical data on flame structure. J.A. Barnard and John N. Bradley, Flame and Combustion, 2nd ed. (1985), is also useful. More advanced and detailed monographs include Bernard Lewis and Guenther Von Elbe, Combustion, Flames, and Explosions of Gases, 3rd ed. (1987); N. Semenoff, Chemical Kinetics and Chain Reactions, trans. from Russian (1935), and Some Problems of Chemical Kinetics and Reactivity, 2 vol. (195859; originally published in Russian, 1954); and A.G. Gaydon and H.G. Wolfhard, Flames: Their Structure, Radiation, and Temperature, 4th ed. rev. (1979). Victor Nikolaevich Kondratiev The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica