What occurs during the process of oxidation in chemical reactions?

During the process of oxidation in chemical reactions, there is a loss of electrons. This concept is central to the understanding of redox reactions, where oxidation and reduction occur simultaneously. When a substance undergoes oxidation, it typically increases its oxidation state, which implies that it has lost negatively charged electrons.

In a redox pair, the substance that gets oxidized donates electrons to another substance, which is then reduced by gaining those electrons. The loss of electrons can lead to the formation of positive ions since the number of protons in the nucleus remains the same, while the number of electrons decreases. Thus, oxidation is fundamentally characterized by this loss of electrons, which can also be interpreted as the gain of oxygen or the loss of hydrogen in certain contexts.

This understanding is essential in various chemical processes, including combustion, respiration, and corrosion, where the behavior of electrons dictates the reaction's course and the properties of the resulting products.