When hot and concentrated, sulfuric acid is a fairly strong oxidizing agent. Write a balanced net ionic equation for the oxidation of metallic copper to Cu(II) ion by hot concentrated H2SO4, in which the sulfur is reduced to SO2.

1 answer

Cu ==> Cu^2+ + 2e
H2SO4 + 2H^+ + 2e ==> SO2 + 2H2O
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There are the two half equations. Add them for the total net ionic equation. If you wish to make a molecular equation, you will need to add some extra sulfate ions to form CuSO4.