November 25, 2024, 04:47:32 PM
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Topic: please check- is there a mistake on this wikipedia page on Disulfide chemistry?  (Read 2251 times)

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Offline hybridpete

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disulfide
Hello guys, I thought i saw a mistake on this page and wanted to ask if I'm right before correcting it
Mid-way through the page, there is a line,
"In disulfide, sulfur is only reduced to a state with oxidation number −1"
But sulfur is OXIDIZED to a state with oxidation number -1 right?  Because sulfur goes from 2- to 1- as it forms the disulfide bridge, thus losing an electron = oxidized??  Thanks for your *delete me*

Offline orgopete

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I suppose you could re-write it. Reading it in context tells me the author was talking about the oxidation state of two and being reduced to one upon (oxidation) to the disulfide. Perhaps if you re-wrote it like that or improved upon it, that would be better.
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Offline synthon

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It was clear to me as written.  The author is using elemental sulfur as a reference (0).  Sulfides are typically reduced to 2- (from 0) while disulfides are only reduced to 1- (from 0). 

Going from the the sulfide to the disulfide would be an oxidation, but the author is implying a transition from sulfur.

Quote
Sulfur is usually assigned to the reduced oxidation number −2, described as S2− and called sulfide.

Maybe rewrite this sentence?

Offline hybridpete

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Thanks guys, I didn't realize he was referring to elemental sulfur.  Makes sense now.

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