If oxygen in the air is O2 (since an oxygen atom has 6 electrons in the outer shell, it makes 2 double covalent bonds with another oxygen so that they’re both stable), why do oxygen molecules react with metals to form an oxide layer if O2 is stable? Its stable, so why react with anything?
In: Chemistry
Because it doesn’t actually make these two bonds. O2 has an unstable second bond that will also exist as two unpaired electrons. This configuration is called a radical. Many molecules exist like this or can be turned into one by something like UV light or bumping into a radical. There are also molecules that are good at absorbing radical elections and stabilizing that lone electron. This makes O2 a kinda reactive gas. Not as much as chlorine but still way more than CO2. Stability isn’t a binary but more a sliding scale based on the type of molecule in question.
O2 will react over time with metals forming a far more stable structure than just O2. This lowers the energy of the molecules net net so is a favorable reaction.
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