Which of the following cannot function as an oxidising agent?

Question

Canvas Classes · Accepted Answer

Oxidising agent = species that gets reduced (gains electrons). For a species to act as an oxidising agent, the central atom must be able to decrease its oxidation state.

Step 1 — Check each species:

(1) : N is in its lowest possible oxidation state (). It cannot be further reduced → cannot act as oxidising agent ✗

(2) : S is , can be reduced to lower states (e.g., , , ) → can act as oxidising agent ✓

(3) : Br is , can be reduced to  () → strong oxidising agent ✓

(4) : Mn is , can be reduced

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