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- Electronic Structure and Bonding Capacity of Oxygen
Oxygen belongs to group 16 of the periodic table. It has 8 protons and 8 neutrons in its nucleus.
The electronic configuration of oxygen is: 8O = 1s2, 2s2, 2p4.
In all of its compounds, oxygen assumes a negative oxidation state as is expected from the two half-filled outer orbitals. When these orbitals are filled by electron transfer, the oxide ion O2− is created. In peroxides (species containing the ion O22−), each oxygen assumes a charge of −1. Hence, oxygen shows an oxidation state of -2 in most of its compounds and -1 in peroxides.
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