Ask a Teacher

Search



Suboxide formulas of all elements.

Suboxide

Suboxides are a class of oxides wherein the electropositive element is in excess relative to the “normal” oxides. When the electropositive element is a metal, the compounds are sometimes referred to as “metal-rich”. Thus the normal oxide of caesium is Cs2O, which is described as a Cs+ salt of O2−. A suboxide of caesium is Cs11O3, where the charge on Cs is clearly less than 1+, but the oxide is still described as O2−. Suboxides typically feature extensive bonding between the electropositive element, often leading to clusters.

Examples of suboxides include

    Carbon suboxide, C3O2;
    Boron suboxide, B6O;
    Rubidium suboxide, Rb9O2;
    Silicon suboxide, SiOx (x < 2)

Suboxides are intermediates along the pathway that forms the normal oxide.
     22 Cs + 3 O2 → 2 Cs11O3
    4 Cs11O3 + 5 O2 → 22 Cs2O


comments powered by Disqus