What is the oxidation number of sulfur?

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1 Answer
anor277
Dec 17, 2015

The oxidation number of any element in its elemental state is #0#.

Explanation:

So sulfur is zerovalent, just at oxygen is as the #O_2# molecule or in its atomic state. Because sulfur is in #Group# #VI#, it has very similar redox behaviour to oxygen (or rather because oxygen and sulfur have similar chemistry, we, as chemists, put it in Group VI). Sulfur can have many oxidation states; its maximum number is #VI^+#, for example in sulfuric acid or in #SO_3#.

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